Atiku, Obi rejoice with Adeleke over Tribunal ruling (Nation)
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Peter Obi have rejoiced with Senator Ademola Adeleke, the party’s governorship candidate in the Osun September 28 elections. Adeleke was declared winner by the Osun Governorship Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Friday. Atiku, on his verified Twitter handle @Atiku, the former Vice President also praised the judiciary for coming to the rescue of the common man. Read more
We’ll appeal tribunal judgment on Osun governorship, says APC (Nation)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun says it will appeal the tribunal judgment that declared Sen. Ademola Adeleke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the September 2018 re-run governorship election in Osun. Mr Kunle Oyatomi, the APC Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, said in a statement on Friday in Osogbo that the verdict would not stand superior legal scrutiny. “We are going to appeal the judgment. “The verdict cannot stand superior legal scrutiny. Therefore we will appeal against it,” Oyatomi said. Read more
Nigerian troops build water, bread factories to support soldiers fighting Boko Haram (Punch)
Troops of 115 Task Force Battalion, Operation Lafiya Dole, Nigerian Army in Askira-Uba, have constructed bread and sachet water factories to support soldiers fighting Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State. Maj. Yusuf Salisu, 115 Task Force Commander, disclosed during Operational visit of Brig-Gen. Bulama Biu, Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division of the army on Friday. Salisu, who was represented by Maj. Godwin Ameh, said that the project was executed under the Battalion Commander Humanitarian Initiative. He said that the initiative came as part of the modality toward protecting its soldiers from consuming unwholesome and poisonous foods or water from Boko Haram and their sympathisers. Read more
Mandate returned, says Davido on Osun tribunal ruling (Nation)
Music super star David Adeleke, fondly called Davido, has reacted to the judgement of the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal. “Mandate returned,” he wrote on his Instagam page, in reaction to the declaration of his uncle, Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the 2018 governorship election in the state. Adeleke was the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the election but Governor Gboyega Isiaka was returned winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Read more
Kaduna police arrest 172 suspects for electoral offences (Punch)
The Kaduna State Police Command said it has arrested no fewer than 172 suspects over alleged involvement in various forms of malpractices during the just concluded general election in the state. This was contained in a document made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Kaduna by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Yakubu Sabo, on Friday in Kaduna. The police listed the alleged offences to include, snatching and destroying of electoral materials, alteration of elections results, and impersonation. Read more
Bauchi Commissioner of Finance resigns a day before rerun (Guardian)
The Bauchi State Commissioner of Finance Hon. Garba Sarki Muhammad Akuyam has just tendered his resignation as commissioner and member of the state executive council. His words: “It is with pains, heavy heart and deep concern that I write to tender my resignation with effect from today Friday, 22 March 2019. “I am compelled to resign my appointment, in view of the recent developments and political realities of present day in Bauchi State, as well as dictates of the movement…Read more
Pay my pension 35 years after retirement, ex-NYSC DG Obasa tells Buhari (Punch)
Thirty-five years after retirement from military service, former Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, Col. Peter Obasa (retd), has made a passionate appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to pay his gratuity and pension. Speaking with journalists in his Ilorin residence on Thursday where he presented his new book, The House of Exile, Obasa, who is now 81 years old, begged Buhari to correct the “injustice meted to some Nigerians,” including himself, when Buhari came to power as the military head of state in 1984. Obasa served as the Director General of NYSC between 1979 and 1984, during which he was incacerated. Read more
Only 157,631 candidates indicated interest in mock UTME —JAMB (Punch)
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board said candidates who are yet to receive notification for its mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination may not have indicated interest at the point of registration. The Head, Media and Information of the board, Dr Fabian Benjamin, made the clarification in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday in Lagos. NAN reports that, of about 1.9 million candidates who registered for the 2019 UTME, which is computer-based, a total of 157,631 indicated interest for the mock as of the close of UTME registration on February 21. Read more
Policeman allegedly rapes woman at ATM point (Punch)
A policeman who allegedly raped a woman at an ATM gallery at night in a bank in Awka, Anambra State, has been arrested. Anambra State Police Commissioner, Rabiu Ladodo, confirmed this to our correspondent in a telephone chat. He said the suspect has been arrested and detained. Ladodo added, “Soon after the Police received complaint of the alleged rape from the victim, operatives were dispatched and the suspect was quickly arrested and placed under detention,” Ladodo said. Read more
Charly Boy admits collecting “nine figures” from Buhari Campaign spokesman (Guardian)
A leader of a Nigerian socio-political movement #OurMumuDonDo Movement has admitted to collecting millions of naira from Festus Keyamo, a spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign team. Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy told Roots TV that Keyamo paid him money in “nine figures” in the run-up to the country’s presidential election in February. Charly Boy, however, claimed that the money was a payment for the right to use a song he recently composed. Read more
At least 60 killed in Ghana bus collision —Police (Punch)
At least 60 people were killed on Friday in a head-on collision between two buses in southern Ghana, police said. The crash happened at about 2:00 am (0200 GMT) in the Bono East region, some 430 kilometres (270 miles) by road north of the capital, Accra. “The vehicles were travelling in separate directions when the collision occurred,” police commander Joseph Antwi Gyawu told AFP. “At least 60 people have been confirmed dead and one of the buses caught fire with the other seriously mangled,” he added. Read more
Three Burundi schoolgirls face jail for doodling on President’s photo (CNN)
Three schoolgirls in Burundi spent the weekend in jail and are facing five years in prison for drawing on the President’s face in their school books, Human Rights Watch told CNN. The girls, who are all minors, were arrested last week and were on Monday charged with ‘insulting the head of state,’ according to the human rights group. They are on remand while they await trial for drawing on President Pierre Nkurunziza’s face during one of their classes, Lewis Mudge, the Central Africa Director at Human Rights Watch told CNN. Read more
New Zealand PM receives death threat on Twitter (Punch)
The New Zealand Police are investigating death threat sent to Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, on social media, local media reported on Friday. A Twitter post containing a photo of a gun and caption “You are next’’ was sent to the prime minister. The post had been up for over 48 hours before the sender’s Twitter account was suspended after it was reported by various people. According to the report, the suspended account contained anti-Islamic contents and white supremacist hate speeches. Read more
Garuda looks to scrap Boeing 737 Max 8 order after crashes (BBC)
Garuda Indonesia is seeking to scrap its multi-billion-dollar order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets after the plane was involved in two fatal crashes. The move is thought to be the first formal cancellation of an order for the aircraft. A Garuda spokesperson said passengers had “lost trust” in the plane. It comes as investigators work to establish the cause of a recent crash involving a 737 Max 8, which killed 157 people. It was the second fatal disaster involving the jet in five months. A Lion Air flight crashed in October, killing 189 people. Read more
75-year-old woman arrested after elementary school student stabbed to death (CNN)
Swiss police have arrested a 75-year-old woman in connection with the fatal stabbing of a seven-year-old boy on his way home from school. The child, who has not been named, was attacked while walking alone in the northern city of Basel around midday local time on Thursday, police said in a statement. The boy’s class teacher, who was passing on a bicycle, found him lying seriously injured on the sidewalk and called for an ambulance. The boy died shortly after emergency surgery in hospital, the statement added. Read more
Imane Fadil death: No radioactivity in ‘bunga bunga’ model (BBC)
Initial tests on Imane Fadil, a 33-year-old Moroccan model who died in hospital in Milan, appear to have ruled out claims that she suffered from radioactive poisoning. Investigators are trying to find out what led to the model’s death, after prosecutors said there were “several anomalies” in her records. Ms Fadil was a key witness in the trial of ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. She gave evidence in 2012 about his “bunga bunga” parties near Milan. Mr Berlusconi, 82, was eventually cleared of paying for sex with an underage prostitute, but convicted of tax fraud. Read more
Priest stabbed during mass at Canada’s biggest church (Guardian)
A priest was stabbed during a livestreamed morning mass Friday at Canada’s biggest church, Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, police said. The suspect was arrested at the Roman Catholic basilica shortly after the attack in front of 50 people and a television audience around 8:40 am (1240 GMT), while priest Claude Grou was taken to hospital. Police told AFP that Grou was “slightly wounded in the upper body” when, according to witnesses cited by authorities, “the suspect suddenly ran up to the priest and attacked him with a knife” while he was officiating the mass. Read more
Man ‘shot friend dead for making fun of his singing’ (Metro)
A man shot a friend dead after the pal made fun of his singing, a court heard. Christopher Owens, 32, reportedly gunned down Timothy Baca, 30, in June 2017 shortly after he and another pal called Juan Elias Torres crooned along to a song on their car radio. Baca, who was in the back seat of their car in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the time, then joked about whether the pair ‘practice that together at night,’ it is claimed. Read more
Night parrot finding in Australia not backed up by evidence (BBC)
An Australian conservation group has been forced to retract published research on the discovery of an endangered bird. In 2017, ecologist John Young claimed to have found traces of the night parrot, one of the world’s rarest birds, in the state of South Australia. His findings were published by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC). But last year the evidence was called into question by other scientists. On Friday, AWC – one of the largest conservation organisations in Australia – said it would retract his published research, after a probe found flaws. Read more
Black man arrested just for moving into his own home (Metro)
A black man held at gunpoint and handcuffed just for moving into his own home is accusing police of racial discrimination. Police detained 61-year-old Marine veteran Karle Johnson outside his new house in Tonganoxie, Kansas in August. On Thursday the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sent a letter to state prosecutors, calling for an investigation into the incident, which they have dubbed ‘moving while black.’ ‘I’d like to see those cops and that chief lose their jobs because this was uncalled for – this is strictly racial profiling,’ Robinson said. Read more
Venus Williams holds off Jakupovic to advance at Miami tennis (Guardian)
Venus Williams displayed the mental strength that has made her a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion on Thursday, holding off a spirited challenge by Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic at the WTA Miami Open. The 38-year-old American, a quarter-finalist at Indian Wells last week, turned back Jakupovic 7-5, 6-3 in 78 minutes to reach the second round after a rough start. Jakupovic was serving for the first set and Williams was on the back foot before the qualifier wilted under the pressure and 43rd-ranked Williams booked a second-round matchup against Spanish 24th seed Carla Suarez Navarro. Read more
Adam Johnson: Ex-Sunderland and England star released from jail (BBC)
The father of former England footballer Adam Johnson said it was good to have his son home after his release from prison. The former Middlesbrough, Manchester City and Sunderland star was jailed for six years in 2016 for engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old fan. Johnson’s father Dave spoke to reporters outside his 31-year-old son’s house in Castle Eden, County Durham. The Ministry of Justice said it did not comment on prisoner releases. Read more
Messi to start Venezuela friendly on Argentina return (Punch)
Lionel Messi will start Friday’s friendly against Venezuela in Madrid as he makes his return for Argentina following a self-imposed eight-month exile, coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed. Scaloni said that Messi would line up alongside Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez and Atlanta United’s Gonzalo Martinez in attack as he revealed his full starting team. “It’s a joy for me and for everyone that he’s back,” Scaloni told a news conference on Thursday. Read more
Three Germany fans filmed shouting racist abuse turn themselves in (Guardian)
Three men who shouted racist abuse at Germany’s Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan during the friendly with Serbia turned themselves in after another fan posted a video on Facebook, police said Friday. After the images, taken during Germany’s 1-1 draw with Serbia in Wolfsburg on Wednesday, appeared online, “they presented themselves and confessed they were the three alleged perpetrators”, confirmed local police spokesman Thomas Figge. “They gave a preliminary statement presenting their version of events.” Read more
Birmingham City deducted nine points for EFL profitability and sustainability rule breaches (BBC)
Birmingham City have been deducted nine points by the English Football League for breaching profitability and sustainability rules. The sanction sees Blues drop from 13th to 18th in the Championship, five points above the relegation zone with eight games to play. The EFL said Blues incurred losses of nearly £48.8m between 2015 and 2018. That is almost £10m more than the accepted losses of £39m over a three-year period. Both Birmingham City and the EFL have 14 days to appeal against the decision of an Independent Disciplinary Commission, which considered the matter on Monday. Read more