ASUU Strike: I haven’t been to school since I got admission – Rema (DailyTrust)
Nigerian music star, Divine Ikubor popularly known by his stage name Rema, has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call off its ongoing industrial action.
In a post on his verified Twitter page on Monday, he said since he gained admission into the University of Lagos, he had not resumed.
In January 2022, the Bounce crooner announced that he applied to study at the school and got accepted after his mum made him realise the importance of having a degree.
However, months after sharing the joyful news, he decried how he was still waiting to join his peers in school but cannot do so. Read more
Chrisland: Share sex tape, risk 14-year jail term -Lagos (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has warned members of the public to desist from distributing footage of students of Chrisland Schools engaging in an “immoral act”.
The PUNCH had reported that pupils from the elite private school located in Victoria Garden City had embarked on a trip to Dubai to participate in the World School Games between March 10 and 13, 2022 when the incident happened.
Following the incident, the school authorities suspended the student indefinitely, stating that she was “a major actor” in an “immoral act”.
But the mother of the student claimed that her daughter was drugged and raped by some male students of the school. Read more
I’ll beat any man in my church who assaults his wife, says Apostle Suleman (Punch)
The General Overseer of the Omega Fire Ministries International, Apostle Johnson Suleman, has said he will ensure that any man in his church who assaults his wife gets beaten too.
This is as he advised women in abusive marriages to leave while they are still alive, adding that those who choose to remain will only be buried if they die as a result of domestic violence.
Apostle Suleman said this while addressing his congregation amid news of the death of Gospel singer, Osinachi Nwachukwu, who allegedly died as a result of domestic violence.
He said, “When I once said there are certain marriages that should break, there was nothing they didn’t say about me. That’s why I kept quiet now, or did you hear me say anything? Read more
Akeredolu arrives Nigeria, 24hrs after rumoured death, endorses wife’s Senatorial bid (Vanguard)
Chairman of the South West Governor’s Forum and Ondo state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu has arrived in the country after a 14-day vacation in Germany, hours after his rumoured death.
His first official assignment was to endorse his wife, Betty’s Senatorial aspiration to contest the Imo East Senatorial election in 2023.
Rumour had it that the governor was sick and eventually passed on in the German hospital.
But 24 hours after the rumour, the governor in a video posted by his Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde on his Facebook page showed the governor dancing and singing to prove to cynics that he is still alive. Read more
Cleric says ill-gotten money should not be used as offering (Guardian)
General Overseer, The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, Worldwide, Pastor Lazarus Muoka ministering in one of the church programmes
The General Overseer of The Lord’s Chosen Revival Ministry, Pastor Lazarus Muoka, yesterday said proceeds from fraud and other corrupt practices should not be used as offering to God in the church.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Muoka said this during the church’s two-day Easter Retreat, with the theme, “Covenant and Blessings,” in Lagos.
According to him, such offering defiles the church and God does not recognise it. Mouka decried corruption in high places, especially in government circles, saying that the problem had affected the country’s development. He said it was wrong for people to rob the country and bring the same money to the house of God as gift for blessing.
“By the time churches and other worship centres begin to preach against such act and decline such, it will send warning signal to perpetrators of such evil. Read more
We’re being raped, robbed — Ilaro Poly students cry for help (Vanguard)
Students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, have appealed to the state command of the Nigeria Police Force, as well as the Ogun State government to rescue them from what they described as ‘incessant attack’ by gunmen suspected to be armed robbers.
The students, most of whom live off the campus said they are no longer safe due to the rate at which the robbers attack them at night.
For them, going to bed at night has become very dangerous, to fear that the armed robbers may pay them an unscheduled visit. Read more
#AgegeBread advert: Tweeps knock Sterling Bank’s apology (Punch)
Sterling Bank Plc has been slammed on Twitter after its Easter message to Nigerians was considered offensive and insensitive.
The message had read, “Like Agege Bread, He rose,” with a photo showing bread and a “Happy Easter” caption.
This was considered offensive by many who wondered if Sterling Bank was equating bread with Jesus who is the reason for the Easter season.
The bank later pulled down the message from its social media pages and issued another one that said, “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. We humbly celebrate His resurrection, the defeat of death and the hope of salvation.”Sterling Bank Plc has been slammed on Twitter after its Easter message to Nigerians was considered offensive and insensitive.
The message had read, “Like Agege Bread, He rose,” with a photo showing bread and a “Happy Easter” caption.
This was considered offensive by many who wondered if Sterling Bank was equating bread with Jesus who is the reason for the Easter season.
The bank later pulled down the message from its social media pages and issued another one that said, “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. We humbly celebrate His resurrection, the defeat of death and the hope of salvation.” Read more
Ngige joins presidential race (Guardian)
Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, has joined the race for the presidential seat.
His media office stated on Sunday that the minister had been consulting stakeholders in his All Progressives Congress (APC) party as well as stalwarts of opposition political parties.
He is scheduled to publicly declare his intention on April 19, the media office stated.
It added that Ngige gave his explanation for consulting opposition political parties when he addressed his supporters at Amansea, a border town with Enugu State after visiting Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
The media office stated also that Ngige’s standpoint was informed by his belief that his aspiration had a cross-party appeal. Read more
Fans shade Viola Davis’ ‘cringey’ Michelle Obama portrayal in ‘The First Lady’ (NYPost)
Viola Davis’ depiction of Michelle Obama in Showtime’s series “The First Lady” turned heads on Sunday evening following the premiere.
The episode made fans’ jaws drop when they saw the Oscar winner’s portrayal of former President Barack Obama’s wife.
Watchers were confused over one scene in which Davis, 56, is talking and her lips are overly pursed in an exaggerated way. The scene involves Davis as Michelle conversing with her husband Barack, played by O-T Fagbenle.
Fans scrambled to social media to tease the “How to Get Away With Murder” star’s portrayal of the Chicago native.
“They set Viola Davis up by allowing her keep her mouth that way throughout the filming. It’s so cringey and distracting,” one user tweeted. Read more
Egypt female TikTok star jailed for three years for human trafficking (BBC)
An Egyptian TikTok star has been sentenced to three years in prison after a court convicted her of human trafficking at retrial.
Haneen Hossam, who is in her early 20s, was accused of exploiting girls for money through video-sharing platforms.
She denied the charge, which was linked to an invitation to her followers to get paid for making live videos.
Human rights activists say she has been prosecuted as part of a crackdown on female social media influencers.
They argue that the charges Hossam and at least 11 other women with millions of followers have faced since 2020 violate the rights to privacy, freedom of expression, non-discrimination and bodily autonomy. Read more
South Africa deploys troops to help with flood relief efforts (AlJazeera)
South Africa’s armed forces have been deployed to help with relief efforts in the KwaZulu-Natal province, where more than 440 people died following torrential rains that triggered floods and mudslides last week.
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said it had been instructed to activate 10,000 troops for tasks including mop-up work and transporting aid.
The SANDF would also provide medical support and helicopters for rescue and reconnaissance missions.
A search and rescue team member looks for bodies with the help of a dog, following torrential rains that triggered floods and mudslides,
The death toll stands at 443, but with each passing day, hopes diminish of finding more survivors. Read more
Gran, 75, still hasn’t opened Easter egg she was given when she was 13 (Metro)
A great-grandma may be the owner of the world’s oldest unopened Easter egg.
Hillion Fern was just 13 when she was given the ornately decorated chocolate, but couldn’t bring herself to eat it because it looked so nice.
The egg is still in its original cellophane and Hillion hasn’t even eaten the bag of toffees and chocolates that it came with.
She now pays around £80 a month to have the egg kept in a cool storage container to prevent it melting. Read more
Tom Hanks and ‘Cast Away’ pal Wilson throw first pitch at Cleveland game (NYPost)
“WILSOOOOOOON!”
Tom Hanks and his old pal from the 2000 movie “Cast Away” have reunited for a very special baseball game on April 15.
Hanks, 65, threw the first pitch at the Cleveland Guardians’ opening day game at Progressive Field against the San Francisco Giants.
The Oscar winner sported white and red Cleveland Guardians garb and had his trusty sidekick Wilson along with him to toss the first pitch to Larry Doby Jr.
“Joining Tom, please welcome his former costar from the movie ‘Cast Away,’” said an announcer in a video of the game posted by the sports team on Twitter. “It’s Wilson, the volleyball!” Read more
Elon Musk hints at Twitter ‘hostile takeover’ days after first bid (Metro)
Elon Musk has tweeted ‘Love me Tender’ and hinted at the possibility of a hostile takeover of Twitter.
The nod to Elvis Presley comes with an attempt to lure shareholders in with a tender offer to give him control of the social media giant.
This comes just days after first offering $43 billion (£33 billion) for the entire company.
Musk’s offer to buy the platform values Twitter at $54.20 per share – above the closing price ahead of his bid, but below a high of $77.06 hit in February of last year. Read more
Ukraine war: First civilian deaths in Lviv shatter sense of safety (BBC)
The western Ukrainian city of Lviv, which has so far been largely unscathed by the war, has recorded its first civilian deaths after Russian strikes, officials say.
At least seven people were killed and 11 injured in the early morning attack on Monday, the city’s mayor said, warning that the death toll could rise as emergency services clear through the rubble.
Lviv is the hub through which tens of thousands of people have fled to neighbouring Poland after withstanding weeks of strikes in cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol.
But Mayor Andriy Sadovyi told reporters that the morning strikes showed there were now “no safe and unsafe locations” in Ukraine.
“Everyone is unsafe,” he added. Read more
Arsenal initiate contact with Osimhen over potential summer move
(Guardian)
Arsenal have reportedly initiated contact with Victor Osimhen, but remain far from convincing the Nigerian striker to join the club, reports thehardtackle.com.
According to Italian sports journalist, Emanuele Cammaroto, via Sport Witness, Arsenal have taken a step forward in their pursuit of Osimhen and have initiated contact with the striker’s camp. The report insists the Gunners are not close to convincing the Nigerian striker over a switch, although the talks may be ongoing.
Osimhen’s name has been ringing a lot in the last few weeks as the striker remains linked with a move to the Premier League. There are at least three teams in the country, who are vying for his signature, but it would be a huge task to lure him away from Napoli in the summer.
Napoli are prepared to make it hard for suitors to follow through on their initial interest. The Serie A giants are set to place a price tag of over £100 million on the Nigerian, designed to keep some top clubs away. Read more
Rampaging Flamingos Hit Egypt 4-0 In 2022 WCup Qualifiers (DailyTrust)
Nigeria’s U-17 girls, the Flamingos have one leg in the final round of the African qualification series for this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup after yesterday’s 4-0 defeat of their Egyptian counterparts at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
After some missed opportunities, Opeyemi Ajakaiye scored the opener and her fourth goal of the qualifiers in the 28th minute.
Nigeria would not relent and forward Omowunmi Bello headed home the second goal in the 39th minute from a corner kick by Tumininu Adeshina.
In the 54th minute, defender Miracle Usani found herself with the ball just outside the Egyptian box after everyone had missed from a corner kick, and slammed past goalkeeper El Taher for Nigeria’s third. Read more
Derby relegated from Championship after QPR defeat (BBC)
Derby County have been relegated from the Championship after suffering a dramatic late defeat at Queens Park Rangers.
Luke Amos’ 88th-minute winner for QPR, coupled with Reading’s remarkable 4-4 draw against Swansea, consigned Wayne Rooney’s beleaguered Rams to the drop to League One.
Relegation with three games to go means Derby will play in England’s third tier for the first time since 1986.
Their fight for survival, in a campaign crippled by a 21-point deduction, could only have been prolonged if they equalled or bettered Reading’s result.
When Amos coolly slipped the ball past goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, their hopes of staying up had taken a major blow but were not over. Read more
Defenders on me after scoring 14 goals – Moffi (Punch)
Nigerian striker Terem Moffi says defenders now have eyes on him following his impressive debut season with FC Lorient and admitted he has struggled to replicate his excellent first season form this term.
After joining Lorient from Kortrijk for €8m, Moffi had an outstanding first campaign with Les Merlus as he played a key role in helping the French outfit escape relegation.
The 22-year-old was the revelation of the French Ligue 1 in the 2020/21 season after bagging 14 goals.
Moffi has, however, only managed to score just seven league goals and four assists in 30 league games. Read more
Jurgen Klopp believes Ralf Rangnick has improved Manchester United defensively (Metro)
Jurgen Klopp believes Manchester United have improved defensively since Ralf Rangnick arrived at Old Trafford.
Liverpool host United at Anfield on Tuesday evening, with Klopp’s side aiming to overtake Manchester City and go top of the Premier League, while a win for the visitors would put them level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham.
United have been on a woeful run of form heading into the fixture having won just two of their last eight matches in all competitions.
But Klopp is adamant that United are still a major threat. Read more
Fernandes fit to face Liverpool despite car crash (Guardian)
Bruno Fernandes will be fit for Manchester United’s Premier League trip to Liverpool despite being involved in a minor car crash on Monday.
No parties involved are understood to have sustained serious injuries and Fernandes took part in training with the rest of the United squad on the eve of the game at Anfield.
“Obviously the accident happened on the way to Carrington, but as far as I know nobody was injured,” Rangnick said at his pre-match press conference.
“He trained with the team and he was ok. That’s why I think he will also be ok for tomorrow.”
Both sides are in desperate need of the points for different reasons.
Liverpool can go top with victory over their old rivals, who they thrashed 5-0 at Old Trafford earlier in the season. Read more