Boy who stood in front of Obi’s convoy freed after three months in detention (Punch)
Quadri Alabi, the 17-year-old who became known during the 2023 presidential election for standing in front of Labour Party candidate Peter Obi’s convoy, has regained his freedom after being held for nearly three months at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos.
Alabi was discharged on Thursday by a Magistrate Court in Apapa following legal advice from the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, which found no evidence to support the armed robbery charge brought against him.
“We are excited to announce that Quadri Yusuf Alabi, the 17-year-old teenager who gained fame during the 2023 elections after he spontaneously jumped and stood in front of the convoy of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has been freed by the court today, 17th April, 2025,” his lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, announced in a post on X on Thursday. Read more
Navy hands over 1,306 bags of smuggled rice to Customs in Lagos (Guardian)
The Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Beecroft, who also serves as the Maritime Component Commander, South-West, Paul Ponfa Nimmyel, yesterday handed over 1,306 bags of smuggled foreign parboiled rice to the Nigerian Customs Service, Western Marine Command, Apapa.
The consignments were intercepted by the Operation AWATSE team on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at Majidun Community in Ikorodu West Local Council of Lagos State.
Commodore Nimmyel told newsmen that the handover was in line with the harmonised standard procedures on arrest, detention, and prosecution. Read more
Gunmen attack Senator Natasha’s family residence (Vanguard)
Unknown gunmen on Tuesday stormed the family house of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan in Ihima, Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Sources familiar with the incident said the attackers arrived around 1:00 am armed with cutlasses and guns, damaging parts of the building, smashing windows and causing panic in the area. At least three men were said to be involved in the attack.
After Senator Natasha’s Chief Security Officer, Yakubu Ovanja, informed the appropriate security agencies, officers from the Okehi Police Division rushed to the scene. Read more
Hundreds of Boko Haram suspects arrested in Lagos — CJTF (Punch)
Hundreds of suspected Boko Haram members have been arrested in Lagos State, the Commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force in Lagos, Mr Kumar Sanda, has disclosed.
Kumar made the revelation on Wednesday while speaking at an award ceremony in Lagos, where he highlighted the CJTF’s ongoing efforts to prevent the infiltration of Boko Haram insurgents and bandits fleeing the North into Lagos.
At the event held at the Airport Hotel, Lagos, Kumar received the Best Security Group in Lagos award from the Nigerian Human Rights Community. Read more
Rivers: Lawmaker slams NBA, demands return of N300m “gift” (Sun)
A member of the House of Representatives, Solomon Bob, has berated the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) over its stance on the Emergency Rule declared in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu.
Bob, in a statement on Thursday, described the condemnation of the Emergency Rule by the NBA as misguided, saying the association was not in a position to dictate to the President on what step to address the crisis in Rivers State.
President Tinubu had declared an Emergency Rule in Rivers State, and suspended the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, the deputy governor, Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly, in response to the political crisis in the state. Read more
6 Nigerian tourists detained in Cape Verde released, says FG (Nation)
The federal government on Thursday confirmed the release of six Nigerian tourists who were recently detained in Cape Verde.
Contrary to earlier reports that the tourists were held for entering the country without sufficient funds, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that they were wrongly accused of trafficking, an allegation that was later found to be false.
According to the ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, the women had travelled to Cape Verde for a holiday when they were unjustly detained. Read more
FG restates commitment towards strengthening social welfare systems (Tribune)
The federal government on Wednesday reiterated its commitment towards strengthening social welfare systems, empowering communities, and improving the quality of care for vulnerable individuals across Nigeria.
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Yakubu Kofamarta who gave the assurance while delivering the keynote address at the opening of a two-day capacity building workshop for Kano State Social Workers held in Kano State, expressed optimism that the workshop will be “a turning point in strengthening the social work profession in Nigeria.”
The two-day workshop was organized with a view to equip Social Workers in the State with knowledge, skills and the resources necessary to address working challenges for Social Workers ranging from poverty, gender based violence to the child protection issues and humanitarian crises. Read more
Tragic update on missing ‘Today’ host Sheinelle Jones (TheRoot)
It’s been almost four months since “Today” host Sheinelle Jones stopped appearing on the show. And while she’s kept private about her personal time away, fans have noticed the “Today” family is missing a member. So after weeks of speculation, Jones’ co-hosts on “3rd Hour of Today” took some time to give us an update on her.
This marks one of the rare times Jones’ absence was addressed by the co-hosts.
The first time anyone spoke on the matter was when Jones herself took to Instagram in January, one month after she last appeared on air. There, she wrote “I sincerely appreciate all of you who have reached out while I’ve been absent from the show.” Read more
Murder arrest as woman, 93, found dead in house (Independent)
A murder probe has been launched after 93-year-old woman was found dead in a leafy suburb of Manchester.
Police found the pensioner’s body inside the semi-detached home in Gatley near Stockport at 9.38am on Wednesday.
A 39-year-old woman was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and remains in custody, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said. Read more
Somali army kills 47 al-Shabaab terrorists in 2 attacks (AA)
The Somali army on Thursday killed 47 al-Shabaab terrorists in separate attacks, including one in Aadan Yabaal in the Middle Shabelle region, a strategic town taken over by the al-Qaeda-affiliated terror group the day before.
The Somali Information Ministry said in a statement that the airstrike on Aadan Yabaal was carried out with support from US Africa Command (AFRICOM) and targeted a terrorist gathering and hideout in the town.
“Preliminary reports indicate that 12 Khawaarij operatives, including senior leaders, were eliminated. Importantly, there were no civilian casualties,” the statement said. Read more
Items that reflect ‘elegance and artistry’ of Barbara Taylor Bradford go on sale (Standard)
Items that reflect the “elegance, intellect and artistry” of author Barbara Taylor Bradford are to be auctioned, months after her death.
The British-American writer found fame with her debut novel A Woman Of Substance, and went on to write 40 novels, becoming a renowned international bestselling author, often described as “the grand dame of blockbusters”.
The author died aged 91 on November 24 last year following a short illness. Read more
95% of flu and herpes infection neutralized by chewing gum (Newatlas)
Looking beyond jabs, sprays or tablets, scientists are thinking outside the box for delivering antiviral medication to prevent the spread of highly transmissible bugs. Their secret weapon? Chewing gum – but not any gum. This one is made from a rather fascinating bean.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Dental Medicine have been working on this novel model of drug delivery, focusing on attacking viruses that like to hide out in our throats and nose.
The team looked at neutralizing herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2) and influenza A strains (H1N1 and H3N2) through a clinically loaded chewing gum made with lablab beans (Lablab purpureus). Read more
Scientists find ‘strongest evidence yet’ of life on distant planet (BBC)
Scientists have found new but tentative evidence that a faraway world orbiting another star may be home to life.
A Cambridge team studying the atmosphere of a planet called K2-18b has detected signs of molecules which on Earth are only produced by simple organisms.
This is the second, and more promising, time chemicals associated with life have been detected in the planet’s atmosphere by Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Read more
Outrage as Chinese club plays match hours after Boupendza’s death (Punch)
Football fans in China were outraged by Zhejiang FC’s decision to proceed with a league match hours after the death of their Gabon international striker, Aaron Boupendza.
Police have ruled out foul play in the death of the 28-year-old, who died after falling from the 11th floor of a building in the eastern city of Hangzhou on Wednesday afternoon.
Boupendza’s Hangzhou-based club went ahead with a home Chinese Super League fixture later on Wednesday against Meizhou Hakka, sparking grief and anger from fans. Read more
Cross River: 500 athletes storm state for Calabar Marathon (Sun)
At least five hundred athletes across Nigeria are expected to grace this year’s Calabar Marathon scheduled to hold on Saturday, April 19.
The Managing Director of the Cross River State Tourism Bureau, Prince Ekpenyong Ojoi, made the annoucement in Calabar on Thursday.
Ojoi said the winner in both the male and female categories will cart home the star prize of one million naira each, with the first and second runners up winning N500,000 and N300,000 respectively for their effort. Read more
Williams ‘would be banned for 20 years’ for doping case like Sinner’s (BBC)
Serena Williams says she would have been banned for 20 years and had some of her Grand Slam titles taken away if she had committed the same anti-doping offence as men’s world number one Jannik Sinner.
Italy’s Sinner, 23, is serving a three-month doping ban after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) over two positive drugs tests last year.
Former world number one Williams, winner of 23 Grand Slam titles, claimed in 2018 that she was a victim of “discrimination” over the volume of drug tests she was required to carry out. Read more
French Open to honour Rafael Nadal with Roland Garros ceremony (UPI)
A ceremony honoring retired tennis icon Rafael Nadal will be held at Roland Garros during the 2025 French Open, organizers of the Paris-based Grand Slam announced Thursday.
The ceremony will be held May 25. Main draw play for the 2025 French Open will be May 25 to June 8 in Paris. Nadal, who retired in November, won a record 14 French Open singles titles.
“To mark Rafa’s first season post-retirement, a ceremony will take place following the conclusion of the day session’s three fixtures,” organizers said in a news release. Read more
Aamir Khan gears up for big screen comeback with ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ (TheWeek)
After a brief hiatus from acting, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan is ready to return to the silver screen with his latest film, ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’. The R.S. Prasanna-directorial is slated to hit the screens on June 20, 2025, as per a Pinkvilla report.
“Aamir is looking to capitalise on the open run in the month of June. Initially, he was contemplating to arrive on May 30, but a June 20 release is giving him a two-week clear run at the box office,” explained a source close to the developments, to Pinkvilla.
With a title closely resembling ‘Taare Zameen Par’, Amir Khan’s indie blockbuster from 2007, the new film is expected to be a sequel, of sorts, and revolve around the same themes of compassion and equality that made the original a wonderful watch. Read more