APC, Buhari elections made birthday worth celebrating, says Tinubu (Guardian)
The national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu on Thursday said the party’s victory at the 2019 general elections made his 67th birthday worth celebrating. “I am excited we walloped them and won,” Tinubu said in Abuja where a colloquium was held to mark his birthday. “I will not be happy standing here and celebrating my birthday if we lost so let me congratulate myself too.” Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, said he was delighted that Nigerians chose President Muhammadu Buhari and candidates of the party in their ‘Next Level’ agenda. Read more
Onnoghen’s trial: CCT chairman wrongly accused journalists, court records show (Punch)
The Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danladi Umar’s threat to imprison some journalists for alleged misrepresentation of the proceedings in the trial of the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, has proved to be based on a wrong premise, The PUNCH can report. A Certified True Copy of the tribunal’s record of proceedings showed that Umar wrongly accused journalists of misrepresenting the March 18, 2019 proceedings on Onnoghen’s trial. The CCT’s record bears the signature and official stamp of the tribunal’s Director of Legal, Bintu Garba A. Read more
Democracy taking root in Africa, says Obasanjo (Guardian)
Nigeria’s former ruler Olusegun Obasanjo has said democracy is taking root in Africa, but warned that rising political stars would struggle to unseat old leaders unless they join forces during elections. Obasanjo, who was a military ruler for three years from 1976 and then a civilian leader from 1999 to 2007, said African countries were making progress towards democracy, but much more remains to be done. Speaking to AFP following the launch in Johannesburg on Wednesday night of a book he co-authored on democracy in Africa, Obasanjo said: “Yes we are (making progress)” towards democracy. “Africa will get to where it needs to be,” he predicted. Read more
Anambra poll: Court orders INEC to prosecute Ubah, returning officer (Punch)
A Federal High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra State has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to prosecute the Senator-elect for Anambra South Senatorial District, Ifeanyi Ubah, and the Returning Officer, Prof M.N Umenweke over criminal allegations levelled against them in the February 23 election in the area. The order came following an application of mandamus sought from the court by the senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the district, Chris Uba in suit number: FHC/AWK/CS/29/2019. Handing down the order, the presiding judge, Justice I.B Gafai asked INEC to within 14 days conduct investigation into the matter for the purpose of prosecuting the respondents. Read more
Gunmen kidnap four women in Nasarawa (Nation)
Gunmen on Wednesday attacked vehicles along the busy Akwanga-Akwanga-Keffi expressway kidnapping four women in the process. Chairman of Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists in Nasarawa State, Suleiman Abubakar’s wife, Yahanasu Abubakar, was among those kidnapped. Suleiman told newsmen that the incident happened around 7:00 p.m. along Gudi-Garaku road in Akwanga Local Government Area of the state. According to him, the gunmen shot at the union bus they were travelling in from Keffi, where his wife had gone to register at the National Youth Service Corps orientation camp. Read more
Two dead as ISIS-backed Boko Haram faction raids army base in Miringa village (Punch)
Islamist militants raided a military base in northeast Nigeria, killing a policeman and a local resident, witnesses said Thursday. Fighters in 13 vehicles late Wednesday attacked the base outside Miringa village, 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the home of army chief Yusuf Tukur Buratai. The jihadists, believed to be from the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province, burnt the base along with an armoured vehicle and a primary school. “They came around 6:30 pm (1730 GMT) in 13 vehicles and attacked the military location just outside the village,” Miringa resident Umar Sanda told AFP. Read more
Ondo shuts hospital for training ‘quack’ nurses (Nation)
Ondo State Government on Thursday sealed off a private hospital in Okitipupa reportedly owned by Dr. Odusola Aribo for training auxiliary nurses against the established law. The Acting Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Dr. Dipo Durojaye, after being briefed by the Ministry’s Monitoring team, who monitored hospitals in Okitipupa, said Aribo also started a hospital without following laid down regulations. Durojaye added Aribo did not register the hospital with the State Ministry of Health, which makes it illegal. Read more
Amosun absent at Tinubu’s 67th birthday colloquium (Punch)
Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, failed to attend the 11th Bola Tinubu Colloquium, which held in Abuja on Thursday, The PUNCH has learnt. Amosun was the only governor from the South-West that failed to attend the colloquium, which is held yearly in commemoration of Tinubu’s birthday. The Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, called out the names of all the governors present, as protocol demands. They are: Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State; Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State; Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State; his Ekiti State counterpart, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; and Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola. Read more
Police arrest herbalist for killing woman (Nation)
A Herbalist, named Femi Emmanuel is currently in the custody of the Kwara state police command for allegedly causing the death of a 45-year-old woman. Deceased, a mother of two was named Tawakalitu Mukaila. Tawakalitu was said to have died in the house of Emmanuel in Ila-Odo-owa, in Oke-Ero local government area of the state. Senior police officer at the Ilofa police station in Oke-Ero, who preferred anonymity, confirmed the incident. He said the case file of the suspect, the body of the victim and her niece had been transferred to the police Headquarters in Ilorin for further investigation. Read more
Married woman dies while spending night with polygamous lover (Punch)
The Plateau Police Command has arrested a 42-year-old man, Gundumi Saya, over the death of his married lover, one Mrs. Hajara Markus, who died while spending the night with him. According to the Police charge sheet currently before Justice Daniel Longji of the Plateau State High Court, Jos, Saya, who has three wives and 14 children, is a resident of Zango-Dinya in Bassa Local Government of Plateau. The accused, who is being charged with culpable homicide, allegedly committed the offence on November 21, 2018. Read more
Brexit: Government plans to hold new vote (BBC)
MPs will vote again on Brexit on Friday but it is not clear whether it will be another “meaningful vote” on the PM’s withdrawal deal. Asked whether the motion would be the “full package”, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said discussion was “ongoing”. There is speculation that MPs might be asked to vote on the withdrawal agreement but not the further “political declaration”. Labour said that would lead to the “blindest of blind Brexits”. Read more
Three hurt, suspect dead in explosive attack at China police station (Guardian)
Three people were injured and the suspect killed in an arson and homemade explosive attack on a police station in northeastern China on Thursday, local authorities said. The attacker set fire to the Shenyang Public Security Bureau’s traffic police department at about 1:50 pm (0550 GMT) before setting off an explosive device made with gunpowder, the bureau said in a statement. “The suspect died on the spot,” the bureau said, without specifying how he died. Read more
Guatemala hit-and-run crash kills 18 bystanders (BBC)
At least 18 people have been killed after a truck ploughed into a crowd in Guatemala. The victims were looking at the scene of a previous accident in the western town of Nahuala when the truck struck them late on Wednesday. The driver then fled the scene. The ministry of health said 19 people had been taken to hospital with injuries. Guatemala’s government has declared three days of national mourning. Read more
Pope says hand-kiss recoil was ‘question of hygiene’ (BBC)
Pope Francis has addressed the mystery of why he withdrew his hand from worshippers’ kisses, explaining it was a “simple question of hygiene”. Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said the Pope was worried about germs when meeting Catholics last Wednesday. Video showing Pope Francis pulling away his hand from people attempting to kiss him went viral. Conservative critics rounded on the pontiff, accusing him of shunning the centuries-old tradition. Read mor
Kelly accuser breaks silence: ‘I’m not ashamed any more’ (BBC)
One of the anonymous accusers in the sex abuse case against R. Kelly has spoken publicly for the first time. “I’m not ashamed of my past anymore,” Lanita Carter told CBS News. “I’m not ashamed of what naysayers say.” Carter, who was once Kelly’s hairdresser, claims the R&B star tried to force her into oral sex in 2003. When she resisted, he allegedly masturbated and spat in her face. Kelly has consistently denied all the charges against him. Carter, who was 24 at the time of the alleged attack, said she had decided to speak out after watching Kelly’s explosive TV interview with Gayle King, in which he tearfully claimed his accusers were “trying to kill” him. Read more
Teachers made fun of boy, 14, for ‘being gay’ in front of whole classroom (Metro)
Two middle school teachers have been suspended for joking about a 14-year-old boy’s sexuality in front of a classroom of his peers. The pair of educators at Shiloh Middle School in Snellville, Georgia were both punished with two-day suspensions, but the teen’s mother, Jean Mott, wants them fired. Mott said the two teachers repeatedly teased her son by referring to his classmate as his ‘boyfriend.’ When the classmate was absent, the teachers reportedly told Mott’s son that his ‘boyfriend was cheating on him while he was away.’ Read more
Husband, 91, turned detective to catch carer stealing from wife with dementia (Metro)
A carer narrowly escaped jail after the husband of a dementia patient she was caring for caught her stealing cash from them. Olwen Dyson, 53, was found to have stolen £70 from the couple after the husband purposely planted the cash to catch her red-handed in her cruel act. The 91-year-old pensioner, from Dewsbury, west Yorkshire, had began suspecting her after money disappeared on multiple occasions. Read more
Callum Hudson-Odoi to be offered £100,000-a-week new contract at Chelsea
Chelsea are reportedly set to offer Callum Hudson-Odoi a new contract worth £100,000-a-week in a big to ward off clubs interested in his signature. The 18-year-old is yet to start a Premier League game for Chelsea but was subject of a £35m big from Bayern Munich in January. Since then, the teenager has won his first two England caps and is being talked about as one of the brightest prospects in European football. Read more
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirms he spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson after Manchester United appointment (Metro)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says former boss Sir Alex Ferguson was one of the first people he spoke to after being appointed as Manchester United’s full-time manager. The Norwegian enjoyed an incredible reign in caretaker charge at Old Trafford after replacing Jose Mourinho in December, winning 14 of his 19 matches in charge and reaching the quarter-final of the Champions League. Although United had planned to undergo a rigorous managerial hunt, United’s form under Solskjaer – and the club’s more attacking style of play – quickly made him the outstanding candidate for the job. Read more
Didier Drogba compares Chelsea ‘legend’ Eden Hazard to Stamford Bridge hero Gianfranco Zola (Metro)
Didier Drogba has heaped praise on his former Chelsea team-mate Eden Hazard and compared him to club legend Gianfranco Zola. Drogba and Hazard played together during the Ivorian’s second stint at Stamford Bridge and he can see a lot of improvement in the Belgian’s game since then. However, while the 41-year-old was dishing up compliments to Hazard, it was not without a slight dig at the rest of the Chelsea squad who are not quite at his level. Read more
NFL: Harry Kane wants to play as kicker ‘in 10 or 12 years’ (BBC)
England captain Harry Kane says he wants to play as a kicker in the NFL. The Tottenham striker, a New England Patriots fan, watched them win a sixth Super Bowl in Atlanta in February. “The desire to play in the NFL is real. It’s something that in 10 or 12 years I definitely want to try,” 25-year-old Kane told ESPN. “If you play in the Premier League and the World Cup and you then play in the NFL, would you then be considered one of the greatest sportsmen ever?” Kane, who has won 37 England caps, won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup and is Tottenham’s top scorer this season with 20 goals. Read more
Bayern record signing Hernandez may miss pre-season, says Kovac (Guardian)
Bayern Munich’s new record signing Lucas Hernandez may not be fit to start training when he officially joins the club on July 1, coach Niko Kovac has said. French international Hernandez will become the most expensive Bundesliga player in history when he makes the 80 million euro switch from Atletico Madrid this summer, in a transfer which was announced on Wednesday. However, the 23-year-old World Cup winner underwent an operation this week after his medical examination at Bayern revealed a problem with his right knee. Read more