9 rescued as 3-storey building collapses in Lagos (Vanguard)
So far, nine persons have been rescued from the rubble of the building that collapsed in the early hours of today at Ojodu-Berger area of Lagos State.
It was gathered that the old building was partially occupied. There were no occupants on the three floors, while the ground floor housed an eatery called Equal Right Restaurant.
As at 2 p.m., men of Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, as well as Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, were on ground trying to rescue victims.
The survivors have been rushed to a hospital for immediate treatment. Read more
Plateau Attacks: ‘I was macheted, thrown into a well to die’ (Tribune)
Plateau State has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons over the past two weeks, following terrorist attacks in four communities of Bokkos Local Government Area, especially in Hurti, Manguna, Daffo, and Tiapi in Bassa Council.
The mayhem unleashed on the two councils has so far claimed more than 100 lives.
These settlements were ravaged by the marauders in a guerrilla manner. Most of the survivors are currently recovering in various hospitals both within and outside the localities, while those who managed to flee the attacks are experiencing trauma. Some of the survivors recount their horrible experiences. Read more
JAMB reschedules 2025 UTME, unveils new date, instructions (ThisDay)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will now commence on Thursday, April 24, instead of the previously scheduled date of Friday, April 25.
According to a statement on Saturday, JAMB spokesman, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, said the adjustment has been made to accommodate essential commitments by the Board and its partner agencies.
He said: “In preparation for the examination, prospective candidates can now print their Notification Slips, which contain vital information regarding their exam details. Read more
Easter: Akpabio, Kalu, Adeola preach love, unity (NewTelegraph)
President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has enjoined Christians and all Nigerians to use the occasion of Easter to eschew political, religious, and ethnic biases and unite for the progress and general well-being of the nation.
He also appealed to those perpetrating mass killings across the country to respect the sacredness of human life by showing love instead of hatred and abandoning their evil ways so that peace can reign in Nigeria.
Akpabio gave the admonition in his Easter message on Saturday through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Eseme Eyiboh, in Abuja. Read more
Osun: 5 die, 1 injured in auto crash on Ife-Ilesa express road (Sun)
Five people died in a tragic auto crash on the Ife-Ilesa express road in Osun State on Saturday. The incident, which occurred around 10 am, involved two vehicles, one with registration number FKJ691HZ and the other unregistered.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Sector Commander, T. A. Sokunbi, confirmed the crash through Public Enlightenment Officer Agnes Ogungbemi. A female child and an adult, including three male adults died in the accident, Sokunbi said. He also noted that a female adult who was injured in the accident, has been taken to the hospital.
Sokunbi explained the sole survivor’s circumstances, revealing that the only surviving woman had been travelling with her family and her house maid. Read more
How CBEX promoters used EFCC, CAC certificates to deceive 600,000 investors (Punch)
More details have emerged on how promoters of the fraudulent Ponzi scheme, Crypto Bridge Exchange, aka CBEX, convinced hundreds of thousands of investors to put money into the trading platform.
CBEX, a digital investment platform, offered investors 100 per cent profit after 30 days of purported AI trading.
No fewer than 600,000 Nigerians reportedly invested in the scheme and lost N1.3 trillion after it collapsed on Monday. Read more
Gospel singer Big Bolaji dies at 50 (Nation)
Gospel singer and radio talk show personality, Bolaji Adedotun Olanrewaju, popularly known as Big Bolaji is dead.
He died after a brief illness on Saturday.
Bolaji celebrated his 50th birthday last November.
Big Bolaji’s death was confirmed by his family in a statement on Saturday, April 19. Read more
Armed men attack, injure 3 NDLEA officers in Abuja raid (Guardian)
Three officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have been hospitalised for gunshot injuries sustained after they came under attack from armed men during a raid operation in the Jahi area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
According to the Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the incident occurred on Thursday night when a team of NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence and surveillance report raided an uncompleted building in the NNPC area of Jahi.
During the raid, they recovered 74 bottles of codeine, 10 litres of codeine syrup, 48 grammes of tramadol, 225mg and 4.9 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, as well as five android phones. Read more
Tracee Ellis Ross reveals savage reason she prefers to date younger men (Unilad)
Tracee Ellis Ross has a savage reason for why she prefers to date younger men.
Dating is a minefield for most of us, and it’s no different if you’re a Hollywood celeb.
That is at least according to Black-ish star, Ross, who has unapologetically spoke out about the trials and tribulations of her own love life and dating, and why men her own age just don’t simply appeal to her – and for good reason. Read more
Glamorous Coachella-bound beauty queen is deported while trying to travel to festival (DailyMail)
A former Brazilian beauty queen was deported from the United States after customs agents deemed she was a threat to the country’s national security.
Francielly Ouriques was connecting at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on April 10 for a flight to California to attend the 2025 Coachella festival when she was intercepted by US Customs and Border Patrol agents.
In a video posted on social media earlier this week, Ouriques said that she was escorted to a room for a secondary inspection and underwent questioning. Read more
Jenna Ortega joins The Weeknd in sombre ‘Drive’ music video (NME)
Jenna Ortega joined The Weeknd in a sombre music video for ‘Drive’.
The Trey Edward Shults-directed visuals dropped on Friday (April 18), and see the singer – real name Abel Tesfaye – alongside Ortega, weaving through amusement parks and large stretches of road in late-night drives.
Undercut with a quiet sense of disconnection, the video sees them part ways, and ends with The Weeknd appearing in a near overflowing bathtub while the Wednesday star drives alone.
The song originally appeared on ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow‘, Tesfaye’s latest album, and is the basis of an upcoming feature film of the same name starring himself, Ortega and Barry Keoghan. Set for release on May 16, the new film is directed by Shults and co-written and co-produced by The Weeknd. Read more
Lady Gaga laughs off microphone malfunction during Coachella headlining gig (People)
Lady Gaga handled an onstage malfunction like a pro!
During her second weekend headlining the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif., on Friday, April 18, the singer’s microphone glitched during “Abracadabra,” the second song of her set, as seen in a video shared on social media.
At one point, before she moved to a different part of the Coachella stage, Gaga, 39, obtained a regular handheld microphone to use, instead of the headset microphone she had on. Read more
Michael B. Jordan was “hyped” seeing himself as twins in Sinners (FilmNews)
Michael B. Jordan felt “hyped” when he first saw himself on screen as twins in the new horror Sinners.
The supernatural horror film, which is set in the American South in the 1930s, stars Jordan as the twins Smoke and Stack, who open a club in their hometown that attracts some undead clientele.
In an interview with Extra, the Creed star admitted it was technically difficult playing two characters within the same scene, so it was very gratifying to see all of his hard work pay off in the finished film.Read more
Cash crunch leaves Syrians queueing for hours to collect salaries (NewArab)
Since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime last December, Syria has been struggling to emerge from the wake of nearly 14 years of civil war, and its banking sector is no exception.
Seated on the pavement outside a bank in central Damascus, Abu Fares’s face is worn with exhaustion as he waits to collect a small portion of his pension.
“I’ve been here for four hours and I haven’t so much as touched my pension,” said the 77-year-old, who did not wish to give his full name. Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin announces an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine (WashingtonTimes)
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, the Kremlin said Saturday.
According to the Kremlin, the ceasefire will last from 6 p.m. Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday to midnight (2100 GMT) following Easter Sunday.
“Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 18:00 00:00 from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side declares an Easter truce. I order that all military actions be stopped for this period,” Putin said at a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, the Kremlin’s Press Service quoted him as saying. Read more
Plateau, Delta state athletes dominate 2025 Calabar Marathon (Sun)
Gyang James Boyi, a 17-year-old athlete from Plateau State, has emerged as the winner of the male category in the 2025 Calabar Marathon.
Gang James won the 24km race with a time of 1:04:24, followed closely by Francis Musa also from Plateau State, who came second with a time of 1:04:51.
In the female category, Agofure Charity, 28, from Delta State, retained her title with a time of 1:19:78. Read more
Swiatek & Pegula knocked out of Stuttgart Open (Vanguard)
Polish world number two Iga Swiatek was knocked out of the Stuttgart Open quarter-finals by Jelena Ostapenko on Saturday, after third-ranked Jessica Pegula was eliminated earlier in the day.
Ostapenko, ranked 24 in the world, won 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
Swiatek has now lost a remarkable six times to the Latvian in six attempts, with Saturday’s loss the first on clay. Read more
Ja Morant plays through ankle sprain as Grizzlies lock up 8-seed (ESPN)
Ja Morant shrugged off a sprained right ankle to post 22 points and nine assists, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-106 on Friday night to advance to the NBA playoffs.
Memphis secured the Western Conference’s eighth seed and will open against top-seeded Oklahoma City in a best-of-seven series beginning Sunday on the Thunder’s home court.
Morant was injured Tuesday night at Golden State in the Grizzlies’ play-in opener and was questionable to play Friday. Read more
Gout blitzes field to set up shot at ‘pretty scary’ final for iconic $40k race (FOX)
All eyes will be on an enthralling Stawell Gift men’s 120-metre final on Monday after Gout Gout blitzed the field in his heat on Saturday afternoon.
Gout, who started with a one-metre handicap, finished his heat with a time of 12.31 with +1.5m wind assistance.
“It feels great,” Gout said after the race. “First time on this track. Can’t wait for the semis and hopefully the finals.” Read more
Brundle highlights ‘very clever’ McLaren component leaving Norris ‘struggling’ (PlanetF1)
Can Lando Norris avoid cracking in the heat of a title battle?
Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle believes Lando Norris has been struggling with the “very clever” new front suspension on the McLaren MCL39 in the early weeks of the F1 2025 season.
And he fears the “writing is on the wall” for Norris with Oscar Piastri leading almost twice as many laps as his team-mate across the first four races.
Piastri has emerged as the new favourite for the F1 2025 title after two impressive victories in China and Bahrain in recent weeks, cutting Norris’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship to three points entering this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Read more
WI miss out on Women’s World Cup by 0.01 run rate (BBC)
West Indies have failed to reach the Women’s World Cup for the first time in 25 years after finishing their qualifying games 0.01 behind Bangladesh on net run-rate.
After restricting Thailand to 166, West Indies needed to chase their target down in 10 overs to overhaul second-placed Bangladesh’s net run-rate advantage.
They made a blistering effort but fell just short, reaching 156-3 after 10 overs – the highest powerplay total in women’s ODIs. Read more