Fear grips Lagos residents as fleeing kingpin, thugs return (Vanguard)
Indications emerged, over the week, that the suspected mastermind and leader of the gang terrorizing Satellite town and suburbs in Lagos state has resurfaced, few days after he fled their criminal den following a police swift operation that led to the arrest of about 40 persons suspected to be members of the notorious gang.
The alleged mastermind said to lay claim to the leadership of Oguntade community in Satellite town reportedly re-appeared just few days after a team of policemen stormed his notorious enclave but failed to arrest him and his commanders said to be his sons. It was learned that he escaped on a motorcycle towards Badagry-Seme axis, few minutes before the police team stormed their den.
Attacks
Residents of Abule-Ado, Vin-Niger, Abule-Osun, some parts of Trade Fair, Mile 2 and Festac town had constantly complained about the ceaseless attacks. extortion, forceful takeover of their hard-earned property, torture, intimidation and harassment by thugs led by the kingpin. His thugs reportedly parade the areas freely armed with dangerous weapons without fear of security agencies. Read more
Deadly Lagos inferno: I resigned to fate as I was too weak to run amid chaos – Landlord who lost two buildings (Punch)
Many usually approach weekends with cherry hearts. They are special days to unwind after strenuous working days. On Sunday, March 15, Reverend Sister Henrietta Alokha, the Principal of Bethlehem Girls’ College, Abule-Ado, Lagos, had a number of schedules slated to enliven the day. From a mass with her boarding female pupils to a family get-together to hold after church service, the 52-year-old administrator could not have wished for a better weekend. Like her, hundreds of residents woke up in high spirits that Sunday ready to explore the weekend to the fullest.
The groovy mood had barely started when it waned around 9am–suddenly. A loud explosion from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation pipelines ripped through the community and its environs. Houses built after many years of toiling were horribly shattered to smithereens with hundreds of dwellers displaced. Read more
Sterling Bank partners Lasgidis Recyclers to clean Lagos (Guardian)
In order to promote environmental sustainability, good sanitation nationwide, Sterling Bank Plc recently partnered with Lasgidis Recyclers, a Lagos-based environmental social enterprise, to clean up Freedom Way and Admiral Ayinla Way in Lekki Phase 1.
Speaking on the exercise, Mr. Godwin Ibeabuchi, Business Executive, Retail and Consumer Banking in charge of Victoria Island Area for Sterling Bank, said the bank has been promoting environmental sustainability, good sanitation, and hygiene across the country for about 10 years, ensuring that Nigerians live and do business in a clean environment.
He added: “We are motivated by the understanding that it is difficult to live a healthy life, conduct business and create wealth amidst waste or in a toxic environment. Without clean air, water, land and energy, our collective humanity is endangered. Read more
2 men nabbed for allegedly breaking into shops (DailyTrust)
Two armed robbery suspects have been arrested for allegedly breaking into some shops at Ikorodu, a Lagos suburb. Those arrested were identified as Julius Peter, 32, and Paul Ozurumba, 35. The police said that the men were arrested following series of shop-breaking and stealing complaints received from shop owners in the area. The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said that on March 13, 2020 at about 2pm, following sustained monitoring, detectives from the Ikorodu police station arrested Peter, a resident of Akin Ogunlewe Street, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, and Ozurumba, a resident of Block 3, Flat 7, Fashola Estate Bayeku, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, allegedly for shop-breaking and stealing following many complaints by shop owners. Read more
How we sold Nigerians into slavery in Libya – Suspects (Vanguard)
A Kano based human trafficking syndicate which specialized in trafficking women from Nigeria to Libya for prostitution, has been smashed by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, IRT.
Vanguard gathered that a 28-year-old mother of two, Nofisat Mustapha, was also rescued by the IRT operatives, when they rounded up two members of the syndicate, in Kano state recently. It was learned further that the syndicate has agents across the country, who were recruiting women, under the guise of getting them mouthwatering jobs in Libya.
Vanguard also learned that these women were not required to pay any money for their transportation, as they would be transported to Kano state by the syndicate’s agents for free and when they arrived Kano, members of the syndicate would fix them in a bus that would take them to Niger Republic, from where they would be taken to Libya by road. Read more
Catholic Church tells faithful to follow Mass on TV (Vanguard)
The Catholic Church in Nigeria has announced some measures in compliance with the directive by Lagos State Government banning religious gathering involving more than 50 worshippers.
In a message to all the priests and the lay faithful by the Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Adewale Martins, the worshippers were enjoined to monitor the mass live on television.
According to the message:
“You would recall that we issued a Special Circular on March 15, 2020, in which we gave further directives on the proactive ecclesiastical steps we needed to take as an Archdiocese to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We emphasized that these are critical times and as such critical measures needed to be taken. We also mentioned that we shall continue to monitor the situation in order to make adjustments as required. Read more
How coronavirus has affected literary events across the world (DailyTrust)
As countries across the globe take measures to checkmate the spread of coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, Bookshelf takes a look at how its spread is affecting and may affect literary events. This week, the 46th African Literature Association (ALA) 2020 Conference, scheduled to hold in Washington D.C. from May 27 to June 1, was cancelled over Coronavirus concerns. In a release signed by Ann Elizabeth Willey, President, ALA and professor of English, University of Louisville, United States, the association said, given the current crisis brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Executive Council had decided “against anyone’s best interest to try to proceed with a gathering of this size.” Read more
Reps want legal backing for National Youth Policy (Punch)
The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to seek legal backing for its National Youth Policy.
The House Committee on Youth Development made the call after a two-day retreat in Lagos.
The Federal Government created the National Youth Policy to make entrepreneurship and empowerment programmes create more impact. Read more
Adichie’s literary agents respond to Giwa-Amu’s plagiarism claim (DailyTrust)
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s literary agents, Wylie Agency, has denied allegation by Anne Giwa-Amu that ‘Half of A Yellow Sun’ was plagiarised. In its statement, the Wylie Agency said in 2016, Anne Giwa-Amu brought a legal claim against Adichie and her publishers where the former alleged that Adichie’s 2006 novel, ‘Half of a Yellow Sun,’ had plagiarized her 1996 novel titled ‘Sade.’ A professional independent reader was appointed to read both novels and that reader concluded that there was “absolutely no basis for Giwa-Amu’s claim and advised that the claim should not be pursued.” It went further to explain that Giwa-Amu nevertheless continued with the claim but was struck out on 15 February 2019 by the court. That the court determined that her claim was ‘an abuse of its process’ and “ordered Giwa-Amu to pay Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her publishers the sum of £14,250, which Giwa-Amu failed to pay. Read more
Coronavirus: Private jet bookings spike in Nigeria (BBC)
Private jets appear to be benefiting from travel challenges posed by the pandemicImage caption: Private jets appear to be benefiting from travel challenges posed by the pandemic
Private jet charter companies in Nigeria have told the BBC that they have experienced a spike in bookings in the last two weeks as countries around the world impose travel restrictions to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
From Saturday, people from 13 of the worst-hit countries will not be allowed into Nigeria.
ExecuJet, which is an umbrella company for private jet operators in Nigeria, says bookings for international journeys have more than doubled in the last two weeks as its workers try to abide by safety measures put in place by the country’s health officials. Read more
Coronavirus killing more than a person an hour in NYC (NYPost)
The coronavirus killed city residents at a rate of more than one per hour on Friday.
Between just 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., 14 people in New York City died from the virus, pushing the Big Apple’s total death toll to 43.
The toll had been 29 prior to Friday’s jump in deaths.
It was the first time that the city’s single-day toll had hit double digits. Read more
Trump says US on top as outbreak shuts largest cities (Guardian)
New York and Illinois followed California Friday in locking down to stem the coronavirus pandemic as President Donald Trump declared the United States was already “winning” the war despite a rapid rise in confirmed cases and deaths.
The move effectively seals off America’s largest cities — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — with the states of New Jersey and Connecticut also following suit.
But Trump insisted there was no need for a national lockdown, arguing that other parts of the US weren’t hurting as much as its most populous states.
Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered non-essential businesses to close and banned gatherings in New York state, a day after his counterpart Gavin Newsom told California’s 40 million residents to stay home. Read more
Coronavirus: Government to pay up to 80% of workers’ wages (BBC)
The UK government will pay the wages of employees unable to work due to the coronavirus pandemic, in a radical move aimed at protecting people’s jobs.
It will pay 80% of salary for staff who are kept on by their employer, covering wages of up to £2,500 a month.
The “unprecedented” measures will stop workers being laid off due to the crisis, chancellor Rishi Sunak said.
Firms have warned the virus could see them collapse, wiping out thousands of jobs, as life in the UK is put on hold. Read more
Conservation victory as number of African black rhinos increases by 2.5% (Metro)
The number of African black rhinos in the wild has increased by 2.5% over the last six years, after almost being driven to extinction by poachers. There were 5,630 black rhinos recorded in 2018, in comparison to an estimated 4,845 in 2012, a new report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said. Conservationists have been working to protect the species by moving them to new locations and battling to protect them through changes to the law. The animals are still listed as critically endangered, but the IUCN expects the numbers to continue growing at a small rate for the next five years. Grethel Aguilar, acting director general of the ICUN, said: ‘The continued slow recovery is a testament to the immense efforts made in the countries and a powerful reminder that conservation works. Read more
China’s livestock sector resumes business (Vanguard)
China’s livestock product and slaughtering sectors have resumed work and production as containment of the COVID-19 outbreak is improving in the country, according to the country’s Agricultural Ministry.
Wei Hongyang, an official of the ministry said that on Monday, 87 per cent of 9,711 qualified feed producers had resumed operation, and feed production saw a two per cent growth in the first two months from the previous year.
Wei said that the slaughtering industry also reported a work resumption rate of 87 per cent among hog-slaughtering enterprises in the country, adding that 83 per cent of poultry slaughterhouses in 16 provincial-level regions had returned to work.
“Meanwhile, about 85 per cent of companies related to veterinary drugs had also resumed production on Monday, while all manufacturers of vaccines for the highly pathogenic avian influenza and foot-and-mouth disease are operating.” Read more
Facebook hands employees massive bonus for working through coronavirus (Metro)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed that the social network’s employees will receive a $1,000 cash bonus to help them survive through the coronavirus pandemic. The bonus will be issued to the company’s 45,000 employees – many of whom are now working from home – but will not be paid out to contractors. Contractors, who perform tasks such as moderating the comments section, will continue to receive their full salaries even if they’re unable to complete all their tasks because of sickness. Meanwhile, the bonus paid to full-time staff is meant to help with things like setting up a home office or paying for childcare. Read more
North Korea fires two projectiles into sea (BBC)
North Korea has fired two projectiles into the sea, according to South Korea’s military.
It said the projectiles appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles.
They were launched early on Saturday from Pyongan province towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.
North Korea launched multiple missiles as part of firing drills earlier this month. The US and China have called on Pyongyang to return to talks on ending its nuclear and missile programmes.
On Saturday, South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff said it was monitoring the situation in case there are additional launches. Read more
Woman gives birth in toilet paper aisle of Walmart as customers cheer on (NYPost)
Finally, some good news from the toilet paper aisle.
A Missouri woman delivered her baby in a local Walmart earlier this week, after her water broke as she was making her way through the store’s otherwise bleak paper goods section.
A store employee held up a sheet — cloth, not paper — for privacy while firefighters and a nurse who happened to be in the Springfield store assisted the new mother on Wednesday.
Customers stopped their shopping to encourage the woman, and cheered as she and her baby were taken away by ambulance. Read more
Kolo Toure on Invincibles, Yaya, drugs ban and coaching (BBC)
Kolo Toure cannot help himself.
Asked how he feels about Liverpool’s defeat at Watford on 29 February – a result which ended their 18-match Premier League winning run and their hopes of emulating Toure’s Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ by going unbeaten for an entire league season – the former defender says all the right things.
“Liverpool are an unbelievable team,” he says. “What they have done is unbelievable. They won every game. We didn’t do that. We won a few and drew a few. [Going unbeaten] is not something you really care about.”
Except he does. The two secret fist-pumps give him away. Read more
Seven times Messi absolutely destroyed Real Madrid in El Clasico (Vanguard)
Lionel Messi has enjoyed a remarkable career at Barcelona and if there’s one game that’s guaranteed to bring the best out of him it’s El Clasico.
The 32-year-old made his first appearance against Real Madrid in 2005 and now has 26 goals and 14 assists against them in all competitions.
Messi has become Madrid’s arch-rival over the years and we’ve looked back at seven of his best moments in this fixture.
March 2007
Messi was only 19 years old when he played in his first-ever El Clasico at the Camp Nou, but he announced himself to the world with a stunning performance. Read more
Bayern take training online to reduce virus risk (DailyTrust)
Keen to avoid unnecessary travel while maintaining social contact, Bayern Munich have set up ‘cyber-training’ sessions where players work out together online by following exercises streamed from the club’s headquarters. “We all have to try to deal with the situation in a positive way,” Bayern coach Hansi Flick told the club’s website. “Yesterday (Wednesday) at 11 am, we had our first ‘Cyber Training’, where the team were coached remotely. Everyone was motivated, everyone did very well.” The state of Bavaria has not yet introduced mandatory confinement measures, but Bundesliga leaders Bayern have decided to keep their players at home in order to best respect the instructions from health authorities. Read more
Wasps players take 25% pay cut (Vanguard)
Wasps players will take a 25 per cent pay cut until the English Premiership resumes to offset the slump in revenue caused by the coronavirus.
Premiership rugby has been suspended for at least five weeks because of the epidemic.
The potential for the delay to go on even longer is causing concern among English clubs, who fear a severe impact on their short-term finances.
Wasps have responded by implementing the wage cut until top-flight matches return. Read more
National Sports Festival postponement was unduly delayed – Ndubuoke (DailyTrust)
A renowned sports journalist and former Chairman of the Imo State Sports Commission, Mr Fan Ndubuoke has said that for no good reason, the decision to suspend the National Sports Festival was unduly delayed. The federal government through the Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare on Tuesday, March 17 announced the postponement of the 2020 National Sports Festival as a precautionary measure against further spread of the dreaded coronavirus. Read more
Carney: Ighalo should be United’s POTM (Punch)
Nigeria striker should be awarded Manchester United’s Player of The Month for March, according to United in-house journalist, Sam Carney.
The quartet, Bruno Fernandes, (Odion) Ighalo, Harry Maguire and Fred have been nominated for the award which will be disclosed on Saturday (today).
Despite the form of fellow new-signing, Bruno Fernandes, Fred, and the form of club captain, Harry Maguire, Carney believes the former Watford man has a greater claim to the prize than all three.
Ighalo is the team’s leading goalscorer in the month where football activities were truncated due to the COVID 19 pandemic, notching three times in his two starts, against Derby County in the Emirates FA Cup and LASK in the Europa League. Read more
LaLiga, Santander Bank sign up for online tournament (Guardian)
LaLiga and Santander bank have joined the #LaLigaSantanderChallenge, designed by Spanish video game influencer, Ibai Llanos. He has invited the LaLiga Santander clubs to take part in an online tournament to be contested on FIFA 20, the popular football simulation video game published by EA Sports. Llanos.
A sports commentator who specialises in online competitions is the brains behind a challenge that saw him suggest that a player from each of the 20 top-tier outfits represent their team in the online event. This competition will allow followers of the best football on the planet to continue to enjoy the competition, in this case in a virtual form.
Llanos launched the challenge via his Twitter account on March 16 and the league’s players were quick to sign up for the initiative. The influencer’s idea was for all of the games to be available for fans to watch for free via his channel on Twitch, a video live streaming service that is mostly used to stream video games. Read more