6 months after #EndSARS, commuters bear brunt of burnt Oyingbo BRT Terminus (Guardian)
Though Nigeria has moved on aftermath the #EndSARS protest that shook the country to its foundation, especially its commercial capital, Lagos, where the damages were more.
However, the wreckages still abound across the state, one of which is the burnt Oyingbo Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) terminus.
Exactly 8:30a.m on Wednesday, October 21, last year, hoodlums hiding under the cover of the protest, set ablaze the ultra-modern terminus, destroying hundreds of newly acquired buses yet to be deployed to routes, but parked in the terminus situated behind the railway line in Oyingbo, Mainland Local Council. Read more
LASEMA, police disagree over cause as fire destroys 100 shops in textile market (Punch)
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and the state’s police command on Friday disagreed over the cause of fire at Cairo Market, Oshodi, Lagos, where about 101 shops, four offices and goods worth millions of naira were destroyed.
While LASEMA said the fire was caused by “some form of explosives/accelerants,” alleging foul play, police dismissed the claim, describing it as a rumour.
It was learnt that the fire broke out at the fabric market around 8 pm on Thursday, and spread to several shops before emergency responders arrived at the scene.
The LASEMA General Manager, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, in a statement on Friday, said the fire was contained through the joint effort of the agency and state’s fire service, lamenting that responders were attacked during the operation. Read more
Lagos targets 6m residents in health scheme (DailyTrust)
The first phase of the Lagos State Health Scheme, ‘Ilera Eko’ is targeted at one million households, which translates to approximately 6 million residents within an 18-month time frame, the Commissioner for health, Prof Akin Abayomi has disclosed.
He explained that the scheme targets massive enrolment of the informal sector working with the State Council of Tradesmen and Artisans (LASCOTA). Read more
Ebubeagu officers in a group photograph (Vanguard)
The security outfit set up by South East Governors, “Ebubeagu”, Ebonyi State branch, has arrested eight armed robbery suspects in the state.
Mr Stanley Okoro-Emegha, the Commissioner for Internal Security, Border, Peace, and Conflict Resolution, said in Abakaliki on Friday that the suspects were arrested in different locations in the state.
Okoro-Emegha reiterated that the state government was committed to get rid of crime in all communities.
“The suspects were arrested in their various crime scene and we will continue to hunt them to ensure adequate security of life and property,” he stated. Read more
I was promised salesgirl job in Ogun but turned into sex slave – 16-year-old Cross River girl (Punch)
Abigail (pseudonym) was said to have gone out with ‘a customer’ around 2pm on Wednesday, April 28, when our correspondent visited Kolab Hotel along Ayetoro Road, Ogun State and wouldn’t return until ‘DB.’
By the acronym, a skimpily-dressed young woman approached by Saturday PUNCH meant 16-year-old Abigail was on an all-night romp affair with a client and would not come back until daybreak of the following day.
Our correspondent had got a lead that underage girls are being forced into prostitution at a bungalow on the hotel premises by a woman identified simply as Madam Nelly and that some of them including Abigail yearned for freedom.
“I was around that day,” Abigail said during an encounter with our correspondent on Tuesday. Read more
SEC rolls out measures to cool off demand for foreign stocks (ThisDay)
Festus Akanbi, with agency reports
As Nigerian investors’ patronage for foreign stocks surges, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced a tighter regulatory oversight of local brokers aimed at cooling off demand for foreign stocks.
The apex regulatory body in the nation’s capital market now plans to register brokers selling stocks of foreign companies as more Nigerians pile into the assets to hedge against inflation and currency weakness. An earlier effort last month met local resistance, backfiring after warnings alerting people of risks and threats to sanction local traders.
“The commission plans to actively monitor the local market in foreign stocks in furtherance of our mandate of ensuring investor protection and market transparency,” Dayo Obisan, executive commissioner for operations of the SEC, said in an interview. Read more
UTME: JAMB parades 50-year-old, one other over impersonation (Vanguard)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Friday, paraded a 50-year old man arrested over impersonation in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations, UTME registration.
The suspect identified as Sesan Obasa,was paraded along side his accomplice,whose name was given as Salvation Terhembe,at JAMB’s headquarters,Abuja.
The board explained that the two suspects were picked up over their alleged involvement in impersonation during the 2021 UTME registration.
Terhembe was picked up by a staff of JAMB at one of the board’s registration centres in Bwari, following his unsuccessful attempts to carry out the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, registration on behalf of Obasa. Read more
We didn’t bathe for 56 days in kidnappers’ den –Freed Kaduna students (Punch)
It was jubilation galore as 27 kidnapped students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Kaduna were reunited with their families after 56 days in captivity.
Tears of joy flowed freely from both parents and their children. At about 3pm, the entire premises of the college, located along the Kaduna International Airport, opposite the Nigerian Defence Academy, erupted in jubilation as the students were being escorted by heavily-armed policemen in company with the state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, and the state Commissioner of Police, Umar Muri.
Narrating their ordeal in the kidnappers’ den, one of the freed students, Zakariya Magaji, described the kidnappers’ den as hell, saying he would never wish the experience for his enemies. Read more
Michelle Rodriguez insisted on Fast and Furious rewrite (Metro)
Michelle Rodriguez has revealed that she insisted on her role in Fast and Furious being re-written in 2001 after being left unhappy about how the character came across. The actress, who starred as Letty Ortiz in the 2001 blockbuster, made sure that the queen of the drag strip was re-written to include more nuance. ‘When Michelle [Rodriguez] read her role, she was like, “No, I’m not playing that.” And then she changed it completely. It went from a trophy girlfriend to this really layered character,’ her co-star Jordana Brewster (Mia Toretto) said. Read more
Africa’s drought crisis: Zimbabwe seeks solutions, Madagascar edges toward famine (DW)
As droughts worsen across Africa, troubling times lie ahead for many countries. But while Madagascar struggles to tackle a hunger crisis, Zimbabwe hopes its new sustainable strategy means it has left the worst behind.
Unprecedented levels of drought across many countries in Africa have left experts and humanitarian agencies fearing the worst.
As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to push the continent to its limits, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned many countries may soon face famine as a result of drought.
Famine looms in Madagascar
Southern Madagascar is currently experiencing its worst hunger crisis in years, brought on by droughts and sandstorms that have turned many fields infertile. The situation is so dire that locusts — which are ordinarily considered a crop pest — have become a source of survival for many. Read more
Texas racist place names poised for historical reckoning (France24)
Racist and offensive Texas place names are holdovers from a dark past, but they are poised to finally change as a reckoning on how white America treats Black people washes over the United States.
Though state lawmakers sought to officially rename a series of features in 1991, that change was stymied, and decades later places like “Negrohead Lake” or “Negro Creek” still carry their derogatory monikers.
Yet the murder last year of African American George Floyd under a white police officer’s knee has brought new impetus to confronting racism, including place names or statues honoring Confederate war generals. Read more
US ‘ready’ to lift sanctions and return to nuclear deal, Iran negotiator says (RT)
Iran’s chief negotiator at talks to revive the nuclear deal has told state media that the US is willing to lift many of its sanctions and come back to the agreement, but Tehran is still pushing to secure “all our demands.”
“The information transferred to us from the US side is that they are also serious on returning to the nuclear deal, and they have so far declared their readiness to lift a great part of their sanctions,” Abbas Araghchi told state-owned Press TV on Friday.
“But this is not adequate from our point of view, and therefore the discussions will continue until we get to all our demands.”
Indirect US-Iranian talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal – officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – have been taking place for several weeks in Vienna. Read more
Perseverance rover captures sound of Ingenuity flying on Mars (France24)
NASA’s Perseverance rover has for the first time captured the low-pitched whirring of the Ingenuity helicopter’s blades as it flies through the rarefied Martian atmosphere.
The space agency on Friday released new footage shot by the six-wheeled robot of its rotorcraft companion making its fourth flight on April 30 — this time accompanied by an audio track.
The nearly three-minute-long video begins with the low rumble of wind blowing across the Jezero Crater, where Perseverance landed in February on a mission to search for signs of ancient microbes. Read more
EMA ‘assessing reports’ of AstraZeneca jab link to rare IMMUNE disorder (RT)
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is investigating reports of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine causing Guillain-Barre syndrome, as the pharmaceutical company remains embroiled in controversy over the jab’s link to blood clotting.
In a meeting this week, the European Medicines Agency’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) revealed that it was “assessing reports” of the rare immune system disorder being found in people following vaccination.
“As part of the review of the regular pandemic summary safety reports for Vaxzevria, AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, the PRAC is analysing data provided by the marketing authorization holder on cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) reported following vaccination”, the PRAC declared. Read more
WHO approves a Covid-19 vaccine from China’s Sinopharm for emergency use (France24)
The World Health Organization (WHO) approved a COVID-19 vaccine from China’s state-owned drugmaker Sinopharm for emergency use on Friday, a boost to Beijing’s push for a big role in inoculating the world.
The vaccine, one of two main Chinese coronavirus vaccines that have been given to hundreds of millions of people in China and elsewhere, is the first developed by a non-Western country to win WHO backing.
It is also the first time the WHO has given emergency use approval to a Chinese vaccine for any infectious disease. Earlier this week, separate WHO experts had expressed concern about the quality of data the company provided on side effects. Read more
Pillars bank on Musa in NPFL title race (Punch)
Kano Pillars chairman Surajo Yahaya says the acquisition of Super Eagles forward Ahmed Musa will help the team in their chase for the 2020/21 Nigeria Professional Football League title.
Musa Joined the four-time NPFL champions in April ahead of the resumption of the league’s second stanza, in order to stay fit ahead of a possible transfer abroad in the summer.
Pillars are currently second in the league with 36 points from 19 games, behind surprise package Kwara United, who are ahead on superior goals difference. Read more
Augsburg still in danger as Stuttgart stop the rot (DW)
Augsburg remain in relegation danger after a late Sasa Kalajdzic goal settled this Friday night contest in Stuttgart’s favour. Augsburg are only three points above the play-off place with a trip to Bayern Munich to come.
Football can be a cruel business. Sasa Kalajdzic’s controlled late header was a real hammer blow to Augsburg, who worked hard to restore parity in Stuttgart and looked refreshed under new management — but despite the signs of life they still can’t get the points to secure their top-flight status.
With a six-pointer against Werder Bremen next weekend and a trip across Bavaria to Bayern Munich to follow on the final day, Augsburg needed something here. Unlike Hertha Berlin and Mainz, who have found form in the final stages of the season, Markus Weinzierl’s side arrived in Stuttgart with just a point from their previous four games.
“I am very annoyed because it would have been deserved to take something home, even to win,” Weinzierl said after the game. Read more
Champions League final: Fans should not travel to Turkey, says UK government (BBC)
Chelsea and Manchester City fans should not travel to Turkey for the Champions League final, the UK government has said after adding the country to England’s travel red list.
The final is due to take place in Istanbul on 29 May.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said Covid-19 red list countries “should not be visited except in the most extreme circumstances”.
He added that the government was open to hosting the game in the UK. Read more
Bowling arrested for ‘sexting and proposing to meet up with undercover detective posing as 15yo girl’ (RT)
Police have revealed that pro golfer Dan Bowling has been arrested for sending explicit texts to a detective who was posing as an underage teenage girl, with authorities in Orlando describing him as a “dangerous online predator”.
The Canadian, 26, is said to have been chatting up a detective online who he allegedly believed was a 15-year-old since April.
According to Florida police, the conversations “turned sexual in nature” and “intensified quickly” within the first 24 hours of contact between the pair on site AdChat.
The police statement said that Bowling was apprehended in the popular tourist destination “as he arrived to meet up with the decoy” this week. Read more
Newcastle one point from safety after thumping Leicester (BBC)
Newcastle moved to within one point of Premier League safety with an impressive win over Champions League-chasing Leicester City.
Joe Willock put the visitors ahead with a cool finish after pouncing on an error from Foxes defender Caglar Soyuncu.
Paul Dummett doubled the Magpies’ lead, rising above Wesley Fofana to head past Kasper Schmeichel from Matt Ritchie’s corner, before Callum Wilson’s second-half double wrapped up the three points.
From 4-0 down, the hosts grabbed two goals inside the last 10 minutes through Marc Albrighton and Kelechi Iheanacho to give the Magpies a late scare. Read more
Joel Glazer makes fresh promise to Manchester United fans after Liverpool protests (Metro) Joel Glazer has penned an open letter to Manchester United fans ‘acknowledging the need for change’ and ‘deeper consultation’ with the support base after fan protests saw their Premier League match with Liverpool cancelled. The Manchester United co-owner reiterated his family’s commitment to the club and once again apologised for their part in the failed European Super League plot. Glazer also promised to invest in the playing squad and facilities at Old Trafford and their Carrington training base. Read more