Ekiti tribunal: APC commends Appeal Court, urges Eleka to work with Fayemi (Punch)
The Ekiti State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress has commended the Appeal Court for upholding the Ekiti Election Petition Tribunal, which affirmed the victory of Dr Kayode Fayemi, in the July 2018 governorship election. The State Chairman of the party, Mr Paul Omotoso, gave the commendation in a statement in Ado-Ekiti on Friday. Omotoso, according to the statement, said the verdict of the Appellate Court was victory for the rule of law, democracy and the people of Ekiti. Read more
CCT dismisses no-case submission by Onnoghen (Guardian)
The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on Friday dismissed the no case submission filed by the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, in the ongoing trial over alleged false assets declaration. Chairman of the CCT, Danladi Umar, held that Justice Onnoghen must enter his defence on Monday, April 1. Earlier, Onnoghen accused the Code of Conduct Bureau of not following set Standard Operation Procedures in instituting the case against him. Onnoghen, through his Counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, also said that it was illegal and unconstitutional for the prosecution not to comply with rules by investigating the allegation before filling the case. Read more
You can’t ban public rallies, peaceful protests, Rivers APC tells Wike (Punch)
he All Progressives Congress in Rivers on Friday condemned the recent ban on public rallies and protests in the state. The position was made known by the party through a statement issued in Port Harcourt by its State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Chris Finebone. The party considered the ban announced by the Rivers State Government as the “height of absurdity.” It also described the ban as an act of illegality, reminding Governor Nyesom Wike that Rivers people and, indeed, Nigerians have legal right to peaceful protest. Read more
Ortom, deputy, 30 newly elected legislators receive certificates of return (Guardian)
Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue; his deputy, Mr Benson Abounu, on Friday received their Certificates of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Makurdi. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the newly elected legislators who also received their certificates are: the incumbent Speaker, Benue House of Assembly, Mr Titus Uba and 29 other members-elect. The INEC Federal Commissioner in charge of Benue, Anambra and Enugu states, Mr Festus Okoye, presented the certificates to the governor, his deputy and the legislators-elect at the IBB square. Read more
APC must not leave to chance 9th National Assembly leadership -Ex lawmakers (Guardian)
A forum of former members of House of Representatives under the All Progressives Congress(APC), says the party leadership cannot afford to leave to chance leadership positions in the 9th National Assembly. The forum stated this on Friday in Abuja at a news conference, adding that leaving such to chance, could bring a repeat of what happened in the 8th National Assembly in 2015. Mr Idris Yakubu, who spoke on behalf of the forum, recalled that in 2015, the APC made the mistake of not giving enough attention to the election of the leadership of the National Assembly, saying that the party paid dearly for that. Read more
Masari, 34 lawmakers-elect receive Certificates of Return in Katsina (Punch)
Governor Aminu Masari and 34 newly elected State House of Assembly members, on Friday, received their Certificates of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission in Katsina. They were all members of the All Progressives Congress. INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Katsina, Alhaji Jibrin Zarewa, who spoke at the occasion urged the recipients of the certificates not to betray the trust that the electorate have put in them. Read more
NAFDAC destroys unsafe, unwholesome drugs worth over N2bn (Guardian)
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Friday destroyed unsafe and unwholesome products seized by the agency, worth over N2 billion, at Oke-Diya Dumpsite, Sagamu, Ogun State. Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of the Agency told newsmen during the destruction exercise that 189 trucks conveyed the unsafe and unwholesome drugs — the highest ever recorded by NAFDAC — to the destruction venue. “This destruction exercise, which is in line with our strategy, is aimed at eradicating the re-introduction of expired, Substandard and Falsified (SFs) medical products, as well as unsafe and unwholesome NAFDAC regulated products into circulation in Nigeria. Read more
Navy rescues two-month-old baby, 11 others from drowning (Punch)
The Nigerian Navy in Port Harcourt says it rescued a two-month-old baby and 11 others from drowning in Ngo waterways in Rivers State. Lt. Ernest Jim, Base Information Officer, Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder, Port Harcourt, disclosed this on Friday. He said troops on routine patrol of the waterways sighted a capsized boat and immediately intervened to rescue the 12 passengers. “The boat mishap happened at about 1330 hours on Thursday, March 28 around Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas Map Jetty in Ngo, Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. Read more
Don’t kiss or shake hands with women who aren’t your wives, cleric tells Muslim men (Punch)
The Chief Imam of Area 10 Garki Jumma’at Mosque, Sheikh Yahya Al-Yolawi, has admonished Muslim men against having a handshake, hugging or kissing women who are not their wives. Al-Yolawi gave the advice while delivering his Jumma’at sermon on, The evil consequences of fornication and adultery (Zina), on Friday in Abuja. The cleric also urged Muslims to keep away from anything that could stimulate sexual desire, such as watching pornography, sexy pictures and movies with females that are not their wives. Read more
DR Congo reports new Ebola contamination (Guardian)
DR Congo authorities Friday indicated fresh cases of Ebola contamination in two localities as they battle an epidemic that has killed 652 to date. The health ministry, in its latest bulletin drawn up late Thursday, reported new cases of contamination at Beni and Oicha in North Kivu province. “Since March 20, the focal point of Beni was reactivated after a person contaminated with Ebola virus coming from Biakato Mine (Mandima zone) travelled for treatment to Beni,” in a neighbouring province, the ministry bulletin said. Read more
Algeria: police fire tear gas at protesters (BBC)
Algerian police fired tear gas in an attempt to disperse crowds on Friday after protesters calling for the resignation of President Abdel Aziz Bouteflika hurled stones at them. Thousands are gathering for the sixth successive Friday of mass anti-government protests. Earlier this week an army general, Lt Gen Ahmed Gaed Salah, called for the position of president to made vacant. But opposition parties in Algeria said it would not guarantee free elections. Read more
Pope issues new child abuse legislation for Vatican City (Guardian)
Pope Francis issued stringent child abuse legislation for Vatican City employees on Friday, as part of the Church’s bid to address a wave of sex abuse allegations against priests. The legislation requires officials and employees in the Vatican City State as well the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Catholic Church, to immediately report any abuse against minors and vulnerable people or face fines or a prison sentence. Anyone convicted of abuse must be “removed from office” under the new rules, which set a statute of limitations for such crimes at 20 years from the date victims turn 18. Read more
Bangladesh fire: Emergency exits in Dhaka high-rise ‘were locked’ (BBC)
Victims of a tower block fire in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Thursday may have been trapped because emergency exits were locked, officials say. At least 25 people died and 70 others were injured in the blaze. Six of the victims are believed to have fallen to their deaths when they jumped from the burning high-rise building. Shajahan Shikdar, from Dhaka’s fire department, told the BBC’s Bengali Service that there was also a shortage of fire safety equipment inside. It is not yet clear what caused the fire in the commercial district of Banani. The government has ordered an investigation. Read more
Landlord sentenced to prison for renting apartment to ringleader of Paris attack (Punch)
A French man who rented his flat to the ringleader of the 2015 Paris attacks during a massive police manhunt was sentenced to four years in prison Friday for “hiding terrorists”. Jawad Bendaoud was convicted on appeal of hiding Islamic State jihadist Abdelhamid Abaaoud and his accomplice Chakib Akrouh, who holed up after the November 13 attacks in Bendaoud’s apartment in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. Bendaoud was the first person to be tried in France over the synchronised shooting and suicide attacks on the Bataclan concert hall, national stadium and several cafes in which a total of 130 people were killed. Read more
Maurizio Sarri admits Callum Hudson-Odoi struggled for England before Chelsea star switched positions (Metro)
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri admits he only watched Callum Hudson-Odoi for 20 minutes during the international break and claims the 18-year-old struggled to impress on England’s right wing but improved once he had switched to the opposite flank. Hudson-Odoi was given a 20-minute cameo for his senior debut as he came on as a second-half substitute in England’s 5-0 win over Czech Republic last Friday. The 18-year-old was then given his first senior start as England ran out 5-1 winners over Montenegro on Monday evening. Read more
Sarri calls for rule to halt matches due to racist abuse (Punch)
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri wants a new rule allowing matches to be halted if players are racially abused. Sarri was speaking after the racist abuse of England players including Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi marred Monday’s Euro 2020 qualifier in Montenegro. Hudson-Odoi was also racially abused during Chelsea’s Europa League match at Dynamo Kiev earlier in March. Lamenting the “stupid people” responsible for racism in football, Sarri claimed he would like to see tougher rules that allow teams to walk off in the event of abuse. Read more
Unai Emery drops Denis Saurez selection hint ahead of Newcastle match (Metro)
Unai Emery insists Denis Suarez is ready to make his first competitive start for Arsenal ahead of Monday’s Premier League clash against Newcastle. The Spaniard arrived on loan from Barcelona in January but has struggled to make an impact and been restricted to making just six substitute appearances so far. Suarez started on Tuesday as Arsenal concluded their warm weather training camp in Dubai with a 3-2 win over Al Nasr, showing several flashes of promise and combining effectively with Mesut Ozil. Read more
Mauricio Pochettino reacts to Manchester United’s decision to appoint Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Metro)
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has congratulated Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following his permanent appointment as Manchester United manager. The Norwegian has signed a three-year contract with United following the impressive impact he has made since taking over from Jose Mourinho in December. Pochettino was on United’s shortlist of candidates to replace Mourinho, but the 47-year-old is now on course to remain at Spurs. Read more