Alleged serial killer, 4 others arrested in Lagos (Guardian)
Policemen of the Lagos State Police Command has arrested an alleged serial killer, Ibrahim Abdullahi a.k.a Tiny and four others shortly after midnight at his Ijegun-Egba area hideout. The Lagos Police PRO, DSP Bala Elkana, in a statement said the suspect whose name sends shivers down the spine of residents of Satellite-Town, Lagos, was arrested during an operation led by the Divisional Police Officer of Satellite-Town Division, CSP Chike Oti, to rid the community of the violent activities of criminals. It would be recalled that the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Zubairu Muazu, had earlier in the week changed Area Commanders, DPOs and Tactical Unit Commanders in the state, to clamp down on members of unlawful societies and raid identified criminal enclaves. Read more
Why Buhari didn’t campaign for APC Gov candidates after winning re-election —Aide (Punch)
The Personal Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, has stated the reasons the President refused to visit some states to campaign for governorship candidates of his party, All Progressives Congress, after he had won the presidential election of February 23, 2019. The governorship election had held on March 9, about nine days after Buhari had received his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission confirming his re-election. According to Ahmad, Buhari actually made the move to visit some states to campaign for candidates of his party, but he shelved the idea at the last minute, insisting that Nigerians should be allowed to vote whoever they wanted without his (Buhari’s) influence. Read more
Navy tests personnel strength in 10km walk (Nation)
To test the physical fitness of its personnel, the Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC) at the weekend embarked on a compulsory 10km route march across the 11 units and schools under it. In Lagos, the march saw the assembly of over a thousand officers and ratings marching from the command’s headquarters in Apapa to the National Stadium and back. All dressed in their camouflage and boots, the personnel who were not bearing arms, however, had armed squadrons marching confront and behind them in case of any eventuality. Read more
INEC declares Ortom winner of Benue Gov poll (Punch)
The Benue State governorship Collation/Returning Officer, Mr. Sabastine Maimako on Sunday declared the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Samuel Ortom, as the winner of the March 9 governorship election. He said Ortom, who is the incumbent governor, polled 434,473 votes to defeat his closest opponent, Mr. Emmanuel Jime, candidate of the All Progressives Congress who scored 345,155 votes. He said that Ortom, “having polled the highest number of votes at this election, is hereby declared winner.” Read more
Political thugs made me a widow at 22, says wife of slain APC member (Nation)
A 22-year-old Koromiaware Kenneth has lamented her ordeals following the killing of her husband, Kenneth Adebor, at Nembe-Bassambiri, Nembe Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, a day before the Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state. Mrs. Kenneth, who was four-month-old pregnant said her husband was killed by political thugs. She urged security agencies to fish out his killer. She spoke when the state leader of the APC and former Governor Timipre Sylva met her family in Yenagoa at the weekend to commiserate with them following the incident. Read more
Useni rejects Lalong’s victory, heads for tribunal (Punch)
Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Plateau State, Jeremiah Useni, has rejected the results of the governorship polls conducted in the state on March 9 and 23, 2019 in which the candidate of the All Progressives Congress and incumbent governor of the state, Simon Lalong, emerged victorious The PDP candidate’s rejection of the poll results came a few hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Mr. Lalong winner of the election on Sunday INEC Returning Officer in the state, Prof. Richard Kimbir, who announced the results after the supplementary poll held on Saturday, said that Mr. Lalong polled a total of 595,582 votes to defeat 23 other candidates, including the PDP standard-bearer, Jeremiah Useni, who scored 546,813. Read more
Niger APC suspends Women Affairs Commissioner (Nation)
The All Progressive Congress (APC) in Niger state has suspended the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Barrister Amina Musa Gua’ar for alleged anti-party activities. The Paikoro local government APC local working committee accused the Commissioner of engaging in anti party activities during the general elections in the council and flaunting the orders of the party. The Party accused her of engaging in some anti party activities of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Mr Ishaya Azalolo who claimed to have acted based on Barrister Amina Gua’ar opinion, directive and support. Read more
DSS, Policemen clash at Kano collation centre (Punch)
Policemen and officials of the Department of State Services sent to provide security for the Kano Independent National Electoral Commission collation centre clashed over the right to screen persons entering the venue. Trouble started on Sunday after security officials asked everyone in the hall to leave and present themselves for fresh screening. Policemen who hitherto controlled access into the centre were shoved aside by a team of heavily armed DSS operatives who were reportedly drafted in from Abuja. Read more
9th NASS leadership: ‘Erring APC lawmakers will be punished’ (Nation)
member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Jubrin Abdulmumin, at the weekend said that any erring member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) involved in foul play in the emergence of the leadership of the 9th National Assembly won’t go unpunished. In 2015, some members of the ruling party had connived with some opposition members in the emergence of the leadership of the 8th National Assembly to the detriment of the APC. Read more
Kano Polls: INEC should use results in areas without violence —Situation Room (Punch)
The Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room has expressed concern over widespread irregularities, especially violence in the Kano State supplementary election held on Saturday. The organization, therefore, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to “discountenance the supplementary elections where violence occurred and proceed to make a declaration on the basis of the polls already concluded.” The Executive Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre and Convener, NCSSR, Clement Nwankwo, expressed these views in its statement on the supplementary elections in Kano State, jointly endorsed by two alternate chairs, Y.Z Yau and Esther Uzoma. Read more
N13bn money laundering: EFCC declares ex-NIA DG, Oke, wife wanted (Punch)
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has declared a former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Amb. Ayodele Oke and his wife, Folasade, wanted for failing to appear in court to answer for the N13 billion money laundering charges against them. Oke and his wife had reportedly travelled out of the country for medical treatment in late January shortly before they were to be arraigned in court. Justice Chukwujeku Aneke of a Federal High Court Lagos, had on February 7, 2019, issued an arrest warrant against the couple following an oral application by EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo. Read more
Kenyan science teacher Peter Tabichi wins global prize (BBC)
A science teacher from rural Kenya, who gives away most of his salary to support poorer pupils, has won a $1m prize (£760,000) for the world’s best teacher. Peter Tabichi, a member of the Franciscan religious order, won the 2019 Global Teacher Prize. Brother Peter has been praised for his achievements in a deprived school with crowded classes and few text books. He wants pupils to see “science is the way to go” for their futures. Read more
Mali sacks senior army officers, dissolves milita after massacre (Guardian)
Mali’s government on Sunday announced the sacking of senior military officers and the dissolution of a militia, a day after the massacre of more than 130 Muslims, including women and children. Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said new military chiefs would be named, and that the Dan Nan Ambassagou association, composed of Dogon hunters, had been dissolved. The dissolution of the militia was to send a clear message, Maiga told journalists: “The protection of the population will remain the monopoly of the state.” Read more
Israel says Trump to recognise Golan as its territory Monday (Guardian)
US President Donald Trump will sign an order recognising Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights when he meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Monday, Israel’s foreign minister said. “President Trump will sign tomorrow in the presence of PM Netanyahu an order recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on Twitter on Sunday. Again breaking with longstanding international consensus, Trump said on Thursday that the United States should acknowledge Israeli sovereignty over the strategic plateau it seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. Read more
Jihadists emerge from tunnels to surrender after ‘caliphate’ falls (Guardian)
Islamic State group jihadists emerged from tunnels to surrender to US-backed forces in eastern Syria on Sunday, a Kurdish spokesman said, a day after their “caliphate” was declared defeated. An AFP reporter saw dozens of people mostly men file out of the battered jihadist encampment in the remote village of Baghouz to board pickup trucks. “They are IS fighters who came out of tunnels and surrendered today,” said Jiaker Amed, a spokesman for the Kurdish units spearheading the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. Read more
Iraq parliament sacks governor over deadly ferry capsize (Guardian)
Iraq’s parliament on Sunday sacked the governor of a northern province where 100 people died in a ferry disaster that sparked a wave of grief and anger. Most of those killed when the boat sank Thursday in the Tigris River in Mosul were women and children headed for a Mother’s Day picnic on the Kurds’ Nowruz New Year holiday. Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mehdi wrote to parliament on Saturday calling on legislators to fire Nineveh provincial governor Nawfel Akoub, citing “negligence and concrete failings” meriting his dismissal. Read more
Don’t sell policies using naked woman, Germans tell govt (Punch)
An advertising campaign by Germany’s transport ministry to persuade cyclists to wear helmets has sparked accusations of sexism, as it features a model wearing just a helmet and underwear. With the slogan “Looks like shit. But saves my life”, the advert features a profile-shot of a competitor in the gameshow Germany’s Next Topmodel sporting a violet coloured helmet and a lacy bra. But the advert, which is due to be plastered on billboards from Tuesday, ran smack into criticism, with the women’s wing of junior coalition partners SPD demanding it be halted. Read more
Xi arrives on French Riviera as Macron seeks united EU front on China (Guardian)
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Monaco on the French Riviera Sunday seeking to press ambitious commercial goals ahead of talks with France’s Emmanuel Macron who is trying to forge a united European front to contend with Beijing’s advances. Xi arrived at the airport of the iconic resort city of Nice accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan to be welcomed by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and an honour guard. Prior meeting with Macron Xi went to the nearby principality of Monaco, where he was received by Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene. Read more
Nigeria qualify for cricket U-19 World Cup (Punch)
Nigeria’s U-19 male cricket side, the Junior Yellow Greens, on Saturday qualified for the 2020 ICC U-19 World Cup slated for next January in South Africa by two wickets. The Nigerian side sealed their qualification after winning their last match against Sierra Leone at the ICC World Cup Africa qualifiers in Windhoek, Namibia. Sierra Leone won the toss and elected to bat first, sending in Nigeria to field for the first time in the tournament. Read more
Wales begin Euro 2020 campaign with win (BBC)
Wales held on for victory against Slovakia in Cardiff to make a winning start to their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign. The hosts flew out of the blocks with attacking intent and led inside five minutes as Daniel James struck his first international goal with a bullet of a shot from 20 yards. Wales had chances to extend their lead but risked squandering it against a resurgent Slovakia, for whom Albert Rusnak and Robert Mak both had shots saved by Wayne Hennessey. Read more