CCT delivers judgment in Onnoghen’s trial Thursday (Punch)
The Code of Conduct Tribunal on Monday fixed Thursday for its final judgment in the charges of false and non-declaration of assets instituted against Justice Walter Onnoghen, who reportedly resigned as the Chief Justice of Nigeria on April 4. The Danladi Umar-led three-man bench fixed the date for judgment after the prosecution led by Mr. Aliyu Umar (SAN), and the defence led by Mr. Okon Efut (SAN), adopted their final addresses. During the proceedings, the defence, in their final arguments, maintained that the prosecution failed to prove the six counts beyond reasonable doubt as required by law and urged the tribunal to dismiss the case. Read more
Tribunal orders INEC to allow APC candidate inspect election materials (Guardian)
The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Uyo, on Monday, ordered INEC to allow the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Mr Nsima Ekere, to inspect all election materials used during the March 9 Governorship Election. The tribunal Chairman, Justice A. M. Yakubu, also gave permission to the APC to serve Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom and the PDP through substituted means. Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) the lead Counsel to Ekere and the APC, Chief Victor Iyenam, said the party will proceed immediately to paste the court processes on the PDP Secretariat located on Four Lane, Uyo. Read more
Onnoghen: Disagreement breaks out in prosecution’s camp (Punch)
A disagreement broke out in the camp of the prosecution in the trial of the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, as the proceedings resumed on Monday. The disagreement started after the prosecution led by Mr. Aliyu Umar (SAN), and the defence led by Mr. Okon Efut (SAN), announced appearances for their teams. As Umar informed the tribunal that he was ready for the business of the day which was the adoption of final addresses, a member of his team, Prof. Zainab Duke, attempted to speak to the bench. Read more
Herdsmen kill two, injure three in Ekiti (Nation)
Tension brew in Iyemero community in Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State on Monday as suspected herdsmen allegedly attacked the community. The suspected herdsmen at the wee hour of Monday attacked Eda, one of the communities under Iyemero town. The gory incident has claimed two lives and three others were inflicted with various degrees of injury. Sources identified one of the dead as Mr Danjuma Ali, a Muslim farmer while the identity of the second person whose bodies had been deposited in the morgue of the General hospital, Ikole Ekiti is still undisclosed as at the time of filing this report. Read more
Police inaugurate 340-man Operation Puff Adder squad in Kogi (Punch)
The Police, on Monday, inaugurated Operation Puff Adder as parts of efforts to curb banditry and kidnapping in Kogi State. The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG 8), Mr. Moses Jitoboh, who inaugurated the operation, called on stakeholders to join hands with the Police to ensure the success of the operation. He said stakeholders’ support became necessary because the operation, by its design, depends on the people in various communities to achieve its objective. Read more
Lover shoots girlfriend dead in Bayelsa for infidelity (Nation)
Tragedy struck in Oluasiri, Nembe Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, following gruesome murder of a young girl identified simply as Victoria Ekalamene by her male lover known as Munado Tomworio. Munado said to be 28 years old reportedly shot his girlfriend in the face, killing her on the spot after accusing her of infidelity. He was said to have held the deceased at gunpoint while querying her about an unknown man and suddenly the gun went off and shattered the girl’s face. It was gathered that the ugly incident, which occurred at about 11pm on Sunday unsettled Oluasiri community. Read more
Adamawa NUT disburses N7m to 87 disengaged teachers (Guardian)
The Adamawa Chapter of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) on Monday disbursed cheques worth N7 million to 78 retired teachers. Presenting the cheques in Yola, Mr Rodney Nathan, Chairman of the union, urged beneficiaries to invest the funds in profitable ventures. Nathan also advised next-of-kin to the deceased families to be fair to them. He assured that the union would clear all back-log of beneficiaries who were due for the payment in the coming month. Read more
JAMB registrar knocks private varsities for aiding corruption (Nation)
Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede has lambasted some private universities in the country for aiding academic corruption and decadence. He accused some private university operators for going against many laws guiding university operations in the country. Oloyede spoke in Abuja on Monday at the opening ceremony of a two-day summit on Nigerian private universities with the theme: “Private University Education Delivery in Nigeria; challenges and opportunities” organised by the National Universities Commission. Read more
Court sentences 66-year-old woman to five years in prison for trafficking heroin (Guardian)
The Federal High Court Abuja, on Monday, sentenced a 66 -year-old woman, Sikirat Adeyemi to five years in prison for exporting 1.340 kg of heroin. Adeyemi who was arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had pleaded guilty to the offence. When the matter was called on Monday, she pleaded for forgiveness, almost in tears, through an interpreter. Delivering judgment, Justice Florence Giwa-Ogunbanjo held that the crime she committed was a grievous one which the court could not forgive. Read more
Cook jailed for beating brother to death over meat (Punch)
An Igbosere High Court, Lagos State on Monday sentenced a cook, Janet James, to 14 years in prison for beating her eight-year-old brother, Saviour, to death for stealing meat from a pot of soup. Justice Adedayo Akintoye convicted Janet, 34, following her plea of guilty to an amended one-count of manslaughter. Akintoye said the sentence would take effect from August 21, 2009, when the Janet was first arraigned and remanded by a magistrates’ court. Read more
Jack Ma defends the ‘blessing’ of a 12-hour working day (BBC)
The Chinese billionaire and co-founder of the online shopping giant Alibaba has continued to argue for a 9am to 9pm working day, and a six-day week. Jack Ma’s backing for the so-called “996 system” is being hotly debated in the Chinese media. Last week, Mr Ma wrote that without the system, China’s economy was “very likely to lose vitality and impetus”. His stance was backed by fellow tech entrepreneur Richard Liu, the boss of ecommerce giant JD.com. On Friday, Mr Ma called the opportunity to work 996 hours a “blessing”. Read more
Fresh probe into Italy’s Salvini for ‘false imprisonment’ (Guardian)
Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Monday he was once more under investigation for alleged false imprisonment after refusing to let migrants disembark from a rescue ship. Attempts to launch trial proceedings against the far-right League for blocking migrants aboard another ship earlier this year fell through after the Senate ruled he should not be stripped of his parliamentary protection to face charges. “I am under investigation once again for ‘false imprisonment’,” Salvini said on Twitter. Read more
Ilhan Omar: Muslim lawmaker sees rise in death threats after Trump tweet (BBC)
One of the first ever Muslim members of the US Congress has said that a tweet by President Donald Trump has led to an increase in threats against her life. Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar said the threats were sparked by “violent rhetoric”, accusing Mr Trump of stoking right-wing extremism. “It has to stop,” she added. It comes after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced a new “security assessment to safeguard” the lawmaker. The tweet showed Ms Omar talking to a US-Muslim group about the 9/11 attacks. On Monday Mr Trump stepped up his attacks against Ms Omar, calling her “out of control”. Read more
Death toll in Brazil buildings disaster rises to 10 (Guardian)
The death toll from the collapse of two apartment buildings in Rio de Janeiro has risen to 10, Brazilian officials said Monday, as rescuers search the rubble for 14 people still missing. Another 10 people were wounded when the adjacent structures in the poor neighbourhood of Muzema buckled on Friday morning when many of the occupants would have been asleep or eating breakfast. Rescuers are working around the clock with the help of sniffer dogs in the hope of finding more survivors. Read more
Russian priest posted to remote village over wife’s ‘sin’ (BBC)
An Orthodox priest in Russia’s Urals region has been posted to a remote village as punishment for his wife’s participation in a local beauty pageant during Lent. Oksana Zotova, who runs a beauty salon in the city of Magnitogorsk, won the Miss Sensuality prize at the contest, and attracted a wave of criticism after an anonymous account on Russian social news aggregator Pikabu revealed that she was the wife of a priest. Once religious authorities in the diocese got wind of the story, Sergei Zotov was promptly dismissed from his post at Magnitogorsk’s Cathedral of the Ascension of Christ. Read more
Teenager burned alive for accusing head teacher of rape (Guardian)
A Bangladeshi teenager Nusrat Jahan Rafi was burned to death by her colleagues and teacher for refusing to withdraw attempted rape allegation against the head teacher of her school. The 18-year-old victim was set on fire on April 6 on the roof of her school in Dhaka, Bangladesh when she was going for her Arabic exam. Rafi sustained 75 percent burns degree from the attack and died on Thursday at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. “They asked her to withdraw the case against Principal Maulana Siraj Ud Doula. As she refused to budge, one of them poured kerosene on her from a glass and set her ablaze,’ the victim’s elder brother said. Read more
Italian police arrest 34 people in ‘bone-breaking’ scam (BBC)
Italian police have arrested 34 people allegedly involved in a “bone-breaking” medical insurance scam in Palermo, Sicily. The perpetrators allegedly broke people’s limbs and staged road accidents in exchange for part of their insurance payout. The scam was first uncovered when one individual died after being beaten, police say. Eleven people were arrested over similar activity last August. Read more
Canadian tourist dies after Thailand zipline wire snaps (BBC)
A Canadian tourist has fallen more than 100m (330ft) to his death after his zipline cable snapped in northern Thailand, authorities say. Authorities in Chiang Mai say the 25-year-old man was on holiday with his girlfriend and a group of friends. The cable gave way soon after he was released from the start of the zipline course on Saturday, local media report. The attraction, Flight of the Gibbon, has now reportedly been shut while police investigate. Thai authorities are investigating several issues, including whether the weight limit was exceeded and any potential negligence on the part of the operators. Read more
FIFA bans disgraced ex-Brazil football chief Marin for life (Guardian)
FIFA on Monday slapped a lifetime ban on the disgraced former boss of Brazilian football, Jose Maria Marin, after a US court convicted him of massive corruption. The 86-year-old Marin was one of the key figures swept up in the graft scandal that began with a series of stunning arrests in 2015 and subsequently upended world football. He had already been sentenced to four years in a US prison after a court in New York found him guilty in connection with nearly $6.6 million in bribes from sports marketing companies in exchange for contracts to broadcast major tournaments. Read more
Nadal inspired by Woods’ Masters triumph (Punch)
An “emotional” Rafael Nadal on Monday said he watched spellbound as Tiger Woods rolled back the clock to win a fifth Masters title and cap his comeback from back surgery. Spain’s world number two, a keen golfer himself, expressed nothing but admiration for Woods, who has fought through at least as many physical challenges as he has himself. “It was amazing,” Nadal said as he prepared for his Wednesday start at the Monte Carlo Masters, his first event in a month since withdrawing with knee issues at Indian Wells before a semi-final against Roger Federer. Read more