Electoral materials in safe custody, INEC assures Lagosians (Nation)
Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Sam Olumekun has said materials for the governorship and State House of Assembly election are in safe custody. He urged eligible voters to vote on Saturday. In a statement, he added that the smart card readers are being reconfigured, noting that refresher training would hold tomorrow to prepare its ad hoc staff for the task. He said all staff who performed below expectations have been replaced, stressing that the commission had fulfilled its obligations to those who participated in the presidential election. He said discussion was ongoing with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) for the prompt delivery election materials. Read more
Tribunal grants PDP, Atiku permission to inspect election materials (Guardian)
The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has granted the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, permission to inspect and obtain Certified True Copy (CTC) of election materials used in the conduct of the February 23 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The Justice Abdul Aboki-led tribunal also ordered INEC to make available all documents and electoral materials used for the election for the purpose of the inspection. In the unanimous ruling on the ex-parte motion filed by the PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the party the tribunal, however, refused the applicants prayers for scanning, forensic analysis of the election materials. Read more
IG deploys DIGs, 227 CPs for gov elections (Punch)
Ahead of Saturday’s Governorship and State Assembly elections, the acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has deployed seven Deputy Inspectors-General of Police in the six geo-political zones across the country to supervise election security. He has also dispatched 10 Assistant Inspectors-General of Police to the police zonal commands and 277 Commissioners of Police to complement the efforts of the CPs in the 36 State Commands and the Federal Capital Territory. With this deployment, each command now has additional three CPs posted to the three senatorial districts in their respective states of assignment. Read more
574 candidates to feature in Saturday’s poll in Abia (Guardian)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says 574 candidates from 43 political parties would feature in March 9, Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Abia. Mr Joseph Iloh, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, said this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on the sideline of the commission’s stakeholders meeting on Wednesday, in Umuahia. Iloh, said 39 of the candidates are for governorship election while the rest 535 candidates are for House of Assembly poll. Read more
Report of Appeal Court sacking Ayade is fake news- Aide (Nation)
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, Mr Christian Ita, has described as fake news, reports trending on social media that the governor has been sacked by the Court of Appeal in Lagos, as the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). According to the reports, Ayade was replaced by Mr Emmanuel Ibeshi, who was disqualified during the party’s primary elections. Ita, in a statement issued on Wednesday night said there was no such pending matter in the Appeal Court. Read more
Police arrest 88 suspected cultists in Anambra (Guardian)
The Police Command in Anambra said on Wednesday, that it has arrested 88 suspected cultists in parts of the state between Feb. 25 and March 5. Mr Rabiu Ladodo, the Commissioner of Police in charge of 2019 general elections in Anambra, made the disclosure in Awka while briefing newsmen on security situation in the state. Ladodo said the suspects were arrested at different locations in Anambra to ensure provision of adequate security to the people. The commissioner of police said that after the arrest, 31 of the suspects were screened out, 27 charged to court, while 30 others were still under investigations. Read more
Landmine kills five farmers in Borno (Punch)
Five farmers were killed on Wednesday when their vehicle hit a landmine near the restive city of Maiduguri, militia and residents said A truck bringing farmers and their harvest of cucumbers from nearby irrigation fields exploded when it hit a mine outside the town of Addamari, some 20 kilometres from Maiduguri, they said. The incident which left 20 people injured was blamed on the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militant group, which last week attacked a military base in the town. Read more
IS militants ‘caught trying to escape’ last Syria enclave (BBC)
About 400 Islamic State militants have been captured trying to escape the last piece of land the group holds in Syria, a US-backed militia says. A Syrian Democratic Forces commander said the jihadists were caught overnight as they attempted to slip out of Baghuz with the help of smugglers. Hundreds of others have surrendered and been evacuated from the village with thousands of civilians in recent days. It comes after US forces and the SDF stepped up their bombardment of Baghuz. Once the village is taken, the US and its allies are expected to formally declare the end of the “caliphate” proclaimed by IS in 2014. Read more
Senator Martha McSally: I was raped by Air Force superior officer (BBC)
A US senator has told colleagues that she “was preyed upon and raped by a superior officer” while in the Air Force. Senator Martha McSally, who was the first female US fighter pilot to fly in combat, was speaking at a hearing on the sex assaults in the military. The Arizona Republican said she did not report the rape as she felt ashamed and confused, and distrusted the system. Reports of sexual assaults across the US military jumped nearly 10% in 2017. Ms McSally told the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on Wednesday: “I stayed silent for many years. Read more
Putin: Russia foiled work of almost 600 spies (BBC)
President Vladimir Putin has accused foreign intelligence services of beefing up activities in Russia, announcing that hundreds of spies were stopped in 2018 alone. Without going into details, he said “129 staff members and 465 agents of foreign special services were foiled”. Russian spies have themselves been accused of several plots, including the poisoning of ex-agent Sergei Skripal. Dutch, Czech and Swedish intelligence all say they have foiled attacks. Russia has also been accused by the West of trying to interfere in elections. Without naming Russia, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, warned on Tuesday that “anti-European forces” might try to target EU Parliament elections in May. Read more
US revokes 77 visas from Venezuela govt officials (Punch)
The United States is barring scores of Venezuelan officials and family members, Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday, in the latest measure aimed at bringing down President Nicolas Maduro. “The State Department is revoking 77 visas, including many officials of the Maduro regime and their families,” Pence said in a speech in Washington, according to his prepared remarks. “We will continue to hold all of the Maduro regime accountable until democracy and libertad (liberty) are fully restored,” he said. Read more
Brazil leader Jair Bolsonaro criticised over obscene video on Twitter (BBC)
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has provoked controversy by posting an obscene video of two revellers at Carnival, saying he wanted to reveal the truth about the festival. The clip posted on Twitter shows two men engaging in sex acts on top of a taxi shelter during a street party. The far-right leader suggested such scenes were becoming normal. Mr Bolsonaro, a deeply divisive figure who has made racist, homophobic and misogynistic remarks but was a clear winner in last year’s election, was the focus of much criticism in many Carnival celebrations across Brazil. Read more
Zuckerberg outlines plan for ‘privacy-focused’ Facebook (BBC)
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has said he believes secure, private messaging services will become more popular than open platforms. In a blog, Mr Zuckerberg outlined his vision to transform Facebook into a “privacy-focused platform.” Facebook owns Messenger and Whatsapp, but message encryption limits its ability make money through targeted adverts. The social media giant has come under fire for a series of privacy scandals. “Facebook and Instagram have helped people connect with friends, communities, and interests in the digital equivalent of a town square,” said the billionaire founder. Read more
Manchester United make history to stun PSG and reach Champions League quarter-finals (Metro)
Manchester United kept their Champions League hopes alive with a stunning victory over PSG in the second leg in Paris. The Red Devils were outplayed at Old Trafford last month but produced a remarkable performance at the Parc des Princes to beat the French champions 3-1. United led 2-1 and Marcus Rashford scored a dramatic penalty in injury-time to send Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side through. The result means Manchester United have reached the last-eight of the Champions League for the first time since 2014. Read more
Ajax win over Real kicks share price skywards (Punch)
Ajax’s stunning win over Real Madrid boosted their share price by almost 8.0 per cent on the Amsterdam stock exchange Wednesday, as investors too savoured the Dutch club’s Champions League success. The Amsterdam club’s shares jumped by 7.8 per cent at close after news of their 4-1 drubbing of Real, which saw the Spanish defending champions crash out of the competition on Tuesday night. Ajax’s stocks opened at 16.25 euros ($18.37) a share, up 5.8 per cent from its close on Tuesday. Shortly after opening it jumped as high as 17 euros, attributed by financial analysts to the club’s win. Read more