Coronavirus: Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, dies as cases hit 493 (Punch)
The Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, is dead.
He died on Friday at age 81.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, said the deceased died of COVID-19.
Announcing Kyari’s death via his verified Twitter handle, @GarShehu, Shehu wrote, “The Presidency regrets to announce the passage of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari.
“The deceased had tested positive to the ravaging COVID-19, and had been receiving treatment. But he died on Friday, April 17, 2020.”
Shehu said funeral arrangements for the deceased would be announced soon.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, also wrote via his verified Twitter handle @FemAdesina, “Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, passes on. May God rest his soul. Amen. Funeral arrangements to be announced soon.” Read more
Nigeria records 53 new cases of coronavirus, total now 493 (Guardian)
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Friday confirmed 51 new cases of coronavirus.
NCDC said the new cases were discovered in eight states across the country.
“Fifty-one new cases of #COVID19 have been reported; 32 in Lagos, 6 in Kano, 5 in Kwara, 2 in FCT, 2 in Oyo, 2 in Katsina, 1 in Ogun, 1 in Ekiti,” NCDC said. Read more
Nobody can be trusted –Daughter of Ibadan woman evangelist killed by painter (Punch)
In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the story of the death of evangelist Grace Ajibola still appears like a tragic scene from a movie. Residents of Johnson Awe area of Oluyole Estate, Ibadan, are surprised even as her family members continue to grieve inconsolably over her death.
A young painter, Niyi Abegunde, who came the way of the 69-year-old woman like a helping hand barely two years ago, turned out to be the messenger of death that caused her demise.
The journey to her gruesome killing started in the early hours of Tuesday, March 17. On that day, Ajibola, a woman evangelist with the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Imole, Agbeni, Ibadan, was hale and hearty. Read more
Insecurity worries Lagos, Ogun residents than COVID-19 (Guardian)
While Nigerians in other parts of the country worry about Coronavirus (COVID-19), most residents of Alimosho, Agege, Ojo, Ilamoshe Estate, Oke-Afa, Isolo as well as some parts of Ogun State were during the week more concerned about their security, following attacks and intentions of attack by criminals, such as ‘One Million Boys’ ‘Awawa Boys,’ ‘No Salary Boys,’ etc.
Residents of all the areas resorted to burning tyres and keeping vigil against attack from hoodlums after an initial panic mode, as hoodlums ravaged neighbouring areas and tried to extend their attacks to the vicinity. Read more
Wearing of face mask now compulsory in Oyo – Gov. Makinde (Vanguard)
The Oyo State Government says wearing face masks in public places is now compulsory.
Gov. Seyi Makinde announced this on Friday in Ibadan while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the State COVID-19 Taskforce meeting held at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan.
Makinde, who noted that the directive was one of the measures to prevent, curtail and control the spread of coronavirus, said that the State COVID-19 Taskforce had reached a decision to implement the measure. Read more
I fund my kids’ education with money made from stealing bags of rice–Suspected leader of gang (Punch)
Yinusa Saheed is a big man at Okolowo, a serene community in the suburbs of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. With a house of his own and cars he replaces at intervals, the 32-year-old is a known face in the neighbourhood. No one knew he made money inflicting pains on shop owners in the state until luck ran out on him recently.
The father of three and his brother, Yinusa Morufu, 38, were arrested by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team for looting shops in Offa and Ilorin areas of the state and stealing several bags of rice. Read more
277 COVID-19 Patients under care, says minister (Guardian)
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, has disclosed that, as of yesterday, a total of 442 persons in 20 states had been confirmed to have COVID-19, with 13 deaths recorded, all with comorbidities, while 152 persons have recovered from the pandemic in the country and discharged.
“This means there are 277 persons who have COVID-19 being cared for in our isolation and treatment centres across the country,” he revealed.
Ehanire explained that the recent marked increase in the numbers of new COVID-19 cases was due likely to scaled-up implementation of new case-finding strategy, as well as the result of rising community transmission, stressing that with house-to-house and cluster testing, using the revised criteria for sample collection, the yield has increased. Read more
How Loven emerged winner of ‘Access The Stars’, with N150M prize (Vanguard)
Following a series of exciting regional auditions, rigorous training at Bootcamp and the suspense-filled judges’ stage shows, Loven has emerged winner of the maiden edition of Access The Stars. The announcement was made at the show’s, first of its kind, e-Finale on April 11, 2020.
As promised, Loven went home with the much-coveted grand prize worth N150,000,000 (One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira). The first and second runners up, ‘Kitay’ and ‘Firefly’, were also awarded consolation prizes.
Charles Akinloye, popularly known as ‘Loven’ charmed his way through the audition stages in Lagos with his unique voice and singing technique of infusing a bit of a fuji to his performances. Read more
Lockdown: Covid-19 Task force officers beat tricycle operator to death (DailyTrust)
A tricycle operator was beaten to death by members of the Abia State Covid-19 Taskforce, enforcing the lockdown directive in Aba on Friday. The Abia State Commissioner of Police, Mr Ene Okon, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Aba that he had directed the area commander in charge of Aba to investigate the cause of death of the tricycle operator, which happened along Opobo Road in the commercial city. He said that another tricycle operator allegedly killed by policemen at Uratta Checkpoint in Aba did not die as speculated but was arrested by the police for defying the lockdown order. Read more
Captain Tom Moore raises £20,000,000 for NHS as donations continue to flood in (Metro)
Captain Tom Moore’s fundraiser for the NHS has officially topped £20 million as donations from around the world continue to flood in. The 99-year-old war veteran made global headlines when he set out to walk 100 laps of his Bedforshire garden by the time he turned 100 on April 30th. He reached that milestone yesterday – by which time he had well surpassed his £1,000 fundraising goal, with £17 million raised. The war hero has vowed to keep on walking as long as donations keep coming in – and the British public have not let him down. Read more
Coronavirus: What misinformation has spread in Africa? (BBC)
Africans in some parts of China have complained of discrimination
African countries are experiencing a rise in the number of new coronavirus cases, and many governments are now enforcing strict social distancing measures.
As they prepare for a surge in cases, misleading information has been spreading throughout the continent.
1.This video does not show Africans under attack in China
Videos have been trending online claiming to show Africans being attacked in the street in China. This comes as African communities in China have reported being accused of spreading the virus. Read more
Child who vanished in 2014 is found starved but alive in hotel room (Metro)
A child who vanished in 2014 has been found emaciated but alive by FBI agents six years on. Penelope Inks was tracked down at a hotel in Madisonville, Texas, earlier this month, six years after she vanished at the age of 11.
Philip Klein, who was hired by Penelope’s father to try and track down the youngster explained: ‘She had her first meal. She was refusing to eat. She was living on Dr. Pepper and candy. She’s emaciated. Weighed 74 pounds at the age of 16 years old. She’s confused on who to trust, on who not to trust.’ Read more
Antibody study suggests coronavirus rate much higher than previously believed (NYPost)
Many more people may have been infected by the coronavirus than previously believed, a new study shows.
A recent study tested the blood of 3,300 volunteers in Santa Clara County, Calif., and found that between 2.5 and 4 percent of them had the antibodies that show they’ve recovered from COVID-19.
In a county the size of Santa Clara, where the population numbers 2 million, that rate of infection would mean between 48,000 and 81,000 people have fought off the virus — far more than the 1,000 who have officially tested positive there. Read more
Climate change: ‘Bath sponge’ breakthrough could boost cleaner cars (BBC)
A new material developed, by scientists could give a significant boost to a new generation of hydrogen-powered cars.
Like a bath sponge, the product is able to hold and release large quantities of the gas at lower pressure and cost.
Made up of billions of tiny pores, a single gram of the new aluminium-based material has a surface area the size of a football pitch.
The authors say it can store the large volume of gas needed for practical travel without needing expensive tanks. Read more
Harry and Meghan secretly deliver food parcels to sick people in LA (Metro)
Prince Harry and Meghan handed out meals to sick people in LA, in their first known public activity since moving to California at the start of the state’s coronavirus lockdown. The pair, who have formally stepped down as senior members of the royal family, first volunteered with Project Angel Food on Sunday, delivering food to people living with chronic illnesses. ‘They were here Easter Sunday, and then they surprised us on Wednesday’ said communications manager Anne-Marie Williams. ‘They handed out to 20 of our clients, and they rocked their worlds.’ Read more
Coronavirus: Star-studded One World: Together At Home concert to be aired (BBC)
A star-studded special concert is to be live-streamed and broadcast on TV to support frontline workers tackling the coronavirus outbreak.
The One World: Together At Home show will see more than 100 artists including the Rolling Stones and Billie Eilish perform live from their homes.
The eight-hour global event is run by the Global Citizen movement and the World Health Organization (WHO).
It will be curated in collaboration with superstar Lady Gaga.
“We may be apart right now, but coming together has never been more important,” Global Citizen said in a statement. Read more
Lisa Loeb sued by photographer for using his pic on social media (PageSix)
A Florida photographer is suing singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb for posting his picture on social media without permission.
Loeb allegedly uploaded the shot of her clutching a guitar and wearing her hair in rainbow-ribboned buns on Instagram, which has garnered 992 likes. The photo, posted in October of 2019, appears beside the message “I stand with our LGBTQ youth against bullying.” The image also appears on Loeb’s Facebook page.
In the Manhattan federal lawsuit filed Thursday, shutterbug Alan Davis is asking for an unspecified amount in damages for the alleged copyright infringement. Read more
Enyeama eyes South Africa move (Punch)
Former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, is considering a potential switch to the ABSA Premiership with Orlando Pirates or Kaizer Chiefs as possible destinations.
Enyeama, who describes South Africa as a good place to be, says he will love to go there if he gets the right offer.
The 37-year-old has been without a club since he left Ligue 1 side Lille in 2018, but has refused to rule out the chance of playing again.
The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations winner moved to Europe with Bnei Yehuda in 2005 from Iwuanyanwu Nationale (now Heartland) and is set to make a return to Africa as he eyes offers from the Soweto giants. Read more
Willian commits future to Chelsea despite coronavirus contract confusion (Metro)
Chelsea winger Willian has revealed he will remain at Stamford Bridge until the season has concluded, even if it goes beyond the end of his contract on June 30. The coronavirus pandemic has caused all Premier League games to be postponed until further notice, with no clear indication of when the campaign will resume. Top-flight clubs reiterated in a meeting on Friday that they are committed to seeing out the remaining 92 fixtures, but will only do so when it is safe. Read more
Quadri, Omotayo drop in ITTF ranking, Edem remains best-ranked Nigerian female (Vanguard)
Nigeria’s duo of Aruna Quadri and Olajide Omotayo have dropped in the April 2020 ranking released on Thursday by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
In spite of this however, Quadri still maintains his status as the highest-rated African player in the world.
Quadri, who is still recuperating from the thigh injury he sustained during the African Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Tunis in Tunisia in February, dropped by two steps. Read more
I don’t want to be a coach – Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Punch)
Former Super Eagles striker, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, has ruled out coaching, and would prefer to venture into other fields.
Speaking with Goal, the former Portsmouth, Middlesbrough and Leicester City striker says he enjoys his role as a FIFA ambassador, adding that he prefers it to coaching.
“I don’t want to be a coach,” Yakubu said.
“I went to the U-20 (Flying Eagles) camp in Munich before they went to Poland. There, I stayed for over a week and passed my message to the young footballers. Read more
Conor McGregor laughs at Tony Ferguson after he weighed in for cancelled UFC 249 fight (Metro) Conor McGregor has mocked Tony Ferguson after he weighed in for his cancelled UFC 249 fight. Ferguson was originally due to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov on April 18 but following the coronavirus outbreak, the Russian was replaced on the card by Justin Gaethje.
UFC president Dana White tried his hardest to get UFC 249 up and running as he planned to host the event on tribal land in California. But Disney and ESPN chiefs stepped in to cancel the show, while a revised date of May 9 has now been proposed. Read more
Man City’s De Bruyne ‘not sure if he had coronavirus’ (Vanguard)
Kevin De Bruyne is recovering from an illness, but the Manchester City star says he is not sure if he had coronavirus.
De Bruyne and his family felt ill for around two weeks, but the Belgian international did not find out whether or not it was the virus.
“I am doing well, to be honest,” De Bruyne told Sky Sports on Friday.
“The first two weeks my family was sick so it was a little bit like up and down, but now they are all healthy. Read more
Sabrina Ionescu has bigger plans for Liberty, WNBA: ‘A voice’ (NYPost)
Sabrina Ionescu emerged as both a generational talent and a face of women’s basketball during her college career at Oregon.
Now, New York City and the WNBA await.
The Liberty made a long-anticipated and easy decision official Friday night by selecting Ionescu, the superstar point guard, with the first-overall pick of the WNBA Draft, marking what could turn out to be a monumental day for the franchise. Read more