Ataga: Police forced me to write false statement, says Chidinma (Punch)
Chidinma Ojukwu, a former 300-level Mass Communication student at the University of Lagos, on Tuesday, told a Lagos State High Court that every statement she made to the police during interrogation was false and made under duress.
Chidinma is standing trial for the alleged murder of the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Michael Usifo Ataga.
In her defence before Justice Yetunde Adesanya at the Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square, Chidinma said fear prevented her from speaking the truth during her interactions with the police. Read more
183 people killed in 3rd week of April alone — CSOs (Vanguard)
As insecurity grips Nigerians tightly, 21 Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, yesterday, asserted that 183 people were killed in the third week of April 2025 alone in Benue and Plateau states.
This was contained in a statement by the CSOs, including; Advocacy Centre for Development, AC4D; Alliances for Africa; Almajiri Child Rights Initiative, ACRI; All-4-One Humanity Development Foundation; African Initiative for Peace Building, Advocacy and Advancement (AfriPeace); Bauchi Human Rights Network; The Benue We Deserve Foundation (BenDeF); Capacity Catalyst Consult (Triple C); Centre for the Advocacy of Justice and Rights; Center for Community Excellence; Centre for Democracy and Development.
Others are Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC; Global Rights; Grassroots Development Monitoring and Advocacy Centre GDMAC; Human Rights Network; Initiative for Social Development in Africa, iSODAF; Mowalek Centre for Sustainable Community Development; Neighbourhood Environment Watch Foundation; Sesor Empowerment Foundation; Srarina Initiative for Peace, Justice and Development; and We the People. Read more
Labour alleges some states only increased minimum wage by ₦5k (Guardian)
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has criticised state governments for failing to fully implement the new N70,000 minimum wage, alleging that some states merely added N5,000 to workers’ salaries without meaningful adjustments.
Speaking at the 6th National Gender Conference organised by the NLC National Women’s Commission in Abuja, Ajaero lamented that workers’ earnings have been eroded by taxation and inflation, rendering the wage increase ineffective.
“This has exposed us to all sorts of danger,” he said. “If you want to be a serious worker and go to work for 24 days or 20 days a month, the N70,000 will disappear. That’s a fact today.” Read more
Carter Efe slams Headies Awards over posthumous nomination of Mohbad (Nation)
Skit maker and musician, Carter Efe, has criticised the Headies Awards organisers for nominating the late singer Mohbad for posthumous award.
Carter Efe accused the Headies of chasing clout, saying they ignored Mohbad when he was alive but are now honouring him after his death.
He said in pidgin: “Why Headies dey misbehave now, them go dey nominate Mohbad? Wetin makes them nominate Mohbad? But when the boy was alive them no go give am o. Anything for the clout na him Headies go dey do.” Read more
Security agencies on alert over emerging threat to civil aviation (DailyTrust)
The federal government is putting all security agencies on red alert over emerging threat to civil aviation with the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), under the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), calling for deeper collaboration among stakeholders in the aviation and security sectors to tackle the growing and complex threats facing Nigeria’s airspace.
Stakeholders at a symposium on strengthening aviation security as a critical pillar of national safety organized by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in Lagos called for vigilance and proactive measures to prevent any threat.
Daily Trust reports that Nigeria’s aviation sector is not immune to threat and safety breaches. Read more
Why I established Radio Biafra in London –Kanu (Sun)
Detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has admitted to establishing Radio Biafra in London, saying the station was created to advance the emancipation of the South-East, South-South, and parts of Benue and Kogi states.
Testifying in court, Kanu explained that the radio station, duly registered in the United Kingdom, was not licensed by Nigeria’s National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) because, in his words, “there was no need to do that.”
He maintained that freedom fighting is not a crime under Nigerian or international law, stating, “It is a fundamental right.” Read more
Defections: PDP NWC holds emergency meeting in Abuja (Channels)
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has begun an emergency meeting at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
The meeting, currently being held behind closed doors on Tuesday, comes amid the gale of defections sweeping through the ranks and strongholds of the opposition party as well as the internal crisis that has plagued the PDP.
Last week, PDP’s former vice presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa, and the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, dumped the party for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Beyoncé fans get into brutal fight at ‘Cowboy Carter’ tour kickoff as VIP lounge descends into chaos (PageSix)
Beyoncé’s fans got into a brutal brawl at the opening night of the pop star’s “Cowboy Carter” tour in Los Angeles on Monday night.
A clip obtained by the Daily Mail showed a group of women, dolled up in Western attire, screaming at each other before getting physical in the VIP area at SoFi Stadium.
One woman was seen trying to walk away from two females when one became aggressive and knocked off her cowboy hat. Read more
Wisconsin Supreme Court suspends judge accused of helping migrant evade ICE (Newsweek)
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended a judge in the state who’s accused of helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest by federal authorities, the Associated Press reported.
The suspension of Milwaukee judge Hannah Dugan comes as the Trump administration is in an escalating battle with the judiciary over its aggressive campaign to ramp up deportations, including deporting those who have not been convicted of crimes.
Newsweek reached out to Dugan’s attorney for comment via email. Read more
Netflix to Stream Alfred Hitchcock Film Collection (Variety)
Get ready to scream: Netflix is bringing a collection of Alfred Hitchcock films to the streaming service this June — and, despite chief Ted Sarandos’ belief that the movie-theatre biz is “outdated,” the company will showcase the legendary filmmaker’s work at its Paris Theatre in New York City in a six-week series.
Starting June 1, a collection of classic Hitchcock films will be available to stream in the US. Those will include “Vertigo,” “Rear Window,” “Frenzy,” “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” “Family Plot” and “The Birds.” Currently, US customers can stream Hitchcock’s genre-defining masterpiece “Psycho,” now available on Netflix in the country. Read more
Ice Cube shares how he measures a film’s success (FilmNews)
Ice Cube has revealed how he measures the success of his films.
While the Hollywood industry typically measures a film’s success by its box office takings, the rapper/actor cares more about giving audiences a good time in the cinema.
Explaining the best part of bringing back his Friday franchise, Cube told The Hollywood Reporter, “Hearing people laugh in the theatre. Hearing how much people enjoy it. Having quotable lines that they take to their regular life, like ‘Bye Felicia,’ or something like that. That’s when a movie is great to me. It’s not how much money you make. No, it’s how many times people can watch it and enjoy it. That’s really the measuring stick.” Read more
David Tennant takes swipe at JK Rowling for transgender views (FarOut)
Actor David Tennant is the latest celebrity to comment on author JK Rowling’s transgender-exclusionary feminist politics.
Talking on the ITV1 show The Assembly, Tennant remarked: “JK Rowling is a wonderful author who’s created brilliant stories, and I wish her no ill will, but I hope that we can all, as a society, just let people be. Just get out of people’s way.”
JK Rowling has received recent backlash from a post on social media, where she smugly celebrated the news that the Supreme Court considers gender and sex to be indistinguishable. This refutes the gender identity and lived experience of transgender people. In the post, she is seen holding a beverage and smoking a cigar in front of a peaceful ocean setting. Read more
3 people killed after shooting in Sweden (Sky)
Three people have been killed after a shooting in Sweden.
A murder investigation has been launched following the incident in the city of Uppsala.
Witnesses told local media they heard five shots and saw people in the area running to take cover.
Police said it was investigating the shooting as a homicide and that it had no information about whether it was a terror or hate crime-related incident at this point. Read more
Adesanya wants Strickland rematch (Punch)
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has made it clear that he wants another shot at Sean Strickland, the man who ended his second title reign in September 2023, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander has faced a challenging stretch in his career with three consecutive losses but is channelling his frustration and anger as motivation for a potential rematch.
“I know who, I have a feeling who I want to fight,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “I have to get some get back. Strickland. I’m going to get him back.” Read more
Chris Eubank Jnr’s weight-cutting methods to be examined by British Boxing Board of Control (BoxingScene)
Though the British Boxing Board of Control had “no concerns” with Chris Eubank Jnr’s weight in the buildup to his points victory over Conor Benn, the board was not amused by videos the fighter posted on social media after just failing to make the contractual limit of 160lbs.
The 35-year-old missed the middleweight limit by 0.05lbs, and Eubank, who had to pay Benn $500,000 for the failure, told the BBC on Friday that a request to urinate was rejected by Benn’s team. “They had an agenda,” Eubank said. “They wanted that money.”
“The problem arose because he was late for the weigh-in,” Robert Smith of the BBBoC told BoxingScene on Monday. “If he’d have got there on time, considering he was only slightly over, he’d have made weight.” Read more
Novak Djokovic withdraws from Rome after early exits in Madrid and Monte-Carlo (Tennis)
Novak Djokovic won’t compete in Rome, the Internazionali BNL d’Italia announced on Tuesday. A six-time champion in the Italian capital, Djokovic would have been searching for his first clay-court victory of the season—and to snap a rare three-match losing streak dating back to March.
The former world No. 1 was unable to find his best level at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters or Mutua Madrid Open, crucial tune-up events ahead of Roland Garros. In Monte Carlo, the No. 3 seed fell in straight sets to Alejandro Tabilo 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match. Seeded fourth in Madrid, Djokovic fell in the second round (after a bye) to Matteo Arnaldi, 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday. Read more
Japanese golfer Mao Saigo celebrates first major trophy by jumping in a pond (CNN)
Japanese golfer Mao Saigo won her first LPGA major at the Chevron Championship on Sunday, and she certainly did it the hard way.
The 23-year-old won a dramatic five-way playoff after getting a birdie on the final hole to share the lead with America’s Lindy Duncan, Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, China’s Yin Ruoning and South Korea’s Kim Hyo-joo on seven under par.
The five women then teed off again on the 18th at The Club at Carlton Woods in Texas – marking the largest ever play-off at an LPGA major. Read more
Tadej Pogacar solos to effortless third win at Liege-Bastogne-Liege (Independent)
Tadej Pogacar took his third victory at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, defending his title from last year, with a seemingly effortless solo attack 35km from the finish.
It was a second Monument win for the world champion this season, after victory in the Tour of Flanders earlier this month, and continues another excellent Classics campaign, having also notched wins in Fleche-Wallonne on Wednesday and Strade Bianche in March.He pointed to the sky as he crossed the line and sported a message reading “For you D” on his bib number, dedicating the win to his partner and fellow cyclist Urska Zigart’s late mother Darja, who died shortly before the race in 2022. Read more