FG condoles Catholic Church over passing of Pope Francis (Nation)
The federal government has expressed sadness over the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis.
Pope Francis died on Monday, 21 April 2025, at the age of 88 years.
A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the late Pope as a global moral leader whose papacy was marked by humility, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to peace, social justice, and the dignity of all people. Read more
Easter: 5 killed as truck rams into procession in Gombe (DailyTrust)
The Gombe State Police Command has confirmed that five people were killed and five others injured early Monday morning when a truck rammed into a procession of Christian faithful celebrating Easter in Billiri town, Billiri Local Government Area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, who confirmed the incident said five persons, including two male and three female, were pronounced dead by medical personnel, while eight others were responding to treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Gombe and General Hospital, Billiri.
He said that the lone crash, which involved a heavy-duty Truck, happened along the Gombe-Yola Road around 6.30am on Monday. Read more
Nigerians raised N10m in 4 days to support Quadri – Lawyer (Channels)
Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effionge, on Monday, said over N10 million has so far been raised to support the 17-year-old minor, Quadri Alabi, who went viral during campaigns for the 2023 general elections when he stood in front of the convoy of a former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Effiong spoke when he appeared on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
“I can confirm to you that as of this morning, we’ve raised over N10 million in barely four days for Quadri. It re-energises our hope in the Nigerian spirit. Within the first two hours, we had raised over N3 million. Read more
Tinubu returns to Nigeria today – Presidency (Punch)
President Bola Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria today after spending nearly two weeks abroad, his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has confirmed.
In a brief post shared on X on Monday, Onanuga wrote, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will return home today.”
Earlier, the Presidency had assured Nigerians that the President remained fully engaged with national governance despite his stay overseas. Read more
Father seeks help as daughter remains in captivity eight months after abduction (Guardian)
A distraught father, Ogunsinasi Oluwaseyi, has pleaded for help to secure the release of his 12-year-old daughter, who has been in captivity for eight months.
Oluwaseyi, during a press briefing, explained how his daughter, Favour Oluwaseyi, was kidnapped in Obio/Akpor Local Council of Rivers State on August 7, 2024.
The 44-year-old father said his daughter was lured out of their home in broad daylight by a female neighbour. According to him, the neighbour led his innocent daughter to a strange man who, upon laying hands on her, immediately took her away in a tricycle. Read more
Obi ‘convoy boy’ recounts traumatic prison experience (Sun)
Quadri Yusuf Alabi, the young Nigerian who gained national attention during the 2023 general elections for bravely standing before the convoy of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, has spoken out about his traumatic ordeal in Kirikiri Prison following what he described as a false accusation.
Quadri described in an interview aired on Channels Television on Monday how his life spiralled following that viral act of heroism. He was arrested, detained, and thrown into prison after allegedly being framed by local thugs in his community.
“My job in prison from morning to night was to clean faeces,” he said with visible pain. “I was treated like someone without a family. I didn’t have money to give the wardens, so they left me in that condition. That was my daily punishment.” Read more
Self-defence will cause anarchy, Gov Namadi replies General Danjuma (Tribune)
The Governor of Jigawa State, Umar Namadi, has criticised recent remarks made by former Chief of Army Staff, General Theophilus Danjuma, on self-defence, adding that such an act is capable of causing anarchy in the country.
It will be recalled that Danjuma had called on Nigerians to take matters into their own hands and defend themselves in response to growing insecurity.
In an interview granted while speaking on Channels Television on Monday, and anchored in Kano, the Governor cautioned that such a statement could lead to lawlessness. Read more
Nigerian Breweries migrates from N65.58b loss to N69.99b PBT (ThisDay)
The management of Nigerian Breweries Plc has turnaround its recent poor results to positive outcome with its first quarter ended March 31, 2025 showing a migration from a loss of N65.58billion in Q1 2024 to N69.99 billion profit before tax in Q1 2025.
The Q1 2025 unaudited result and accounts released on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed that the multinational company declared a profit of N44.55 billion in the period under review as against N52.09billion loss declared in the corresponding period of 2024.
From the profit & loss figures, Nigerian Breweries recorded a significant increase in revenue and reduction in net loss on foreign exchange transactions that played a critical role in profit generation in Q1 2025. Read more
‘Father of the poor’: Argentinians mourn compatriot Pope Francis (AlJazeera)
Argentinians are mourning the death of their compatriot Pope Francis, who served as the archbishop of Buenos Aires and was known for working with the poor in the city before ascending to the top of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Argentinian government has announced seven days of mourning for Francis, who died on Monday at age 88.
“As Argentinians, we are orphaned,” street sweeper Javier Languenari told the AFP news agency outside the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral early on Monday. “He endured as much as he could.” Read more
Cardi B to ‘Finally’ Host WWE SummerSlam 2025 (Billboard)
Cardi B is pulling no punches at this year’s WWE SummerSlam, which the rapper announced late Friday (April 18) she’ll be hosting both nights this August.
In a clip shared to the wrestling promotion company’s X account, Cardi — wearing an Eddie Guerrero T-shirt — excitedly shares the news. “What’s up, WWE universe?” she tells the camera, waving. “Guess what? SummerSlam. MetLife. Two nights. And I will finally be hosting.”
“And nobody better try me,” a hyped-up Cardi ends the announcement video following a montage of all-star fighters taking the ring. “We gonna turn up!” Read more
China will punish countries that bargain with the U.S. over tariffs (UPI)
China says it will retaliate against other countries who work with the United States in any way that could compromise its interests.
A Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said Monday in a press conference that it expects other countries should “stand on the side of fairness and justice, one the side of historical correctness,” and should defend economic and trade rules when it comes to negotiations with the United States.
The spokesperson called out the United States for having “abused” tariffs on all its trading partners, in reference to the tariffs levied by President Donald Trump on April 2. Read more
Kinshasa reacts to Trump’s claim that ‘many’ Congolese come to US (AfricaNews)
Residents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital, Kinshasa reacted to comments made by US President Donald Trump about foreign migrants last week.
During a meeting with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, President Trump spoke on curbing migration and the conditions of the US borders, telling his Italian counterpart, “many, many people come from the Congo. I don’t know what that is, but they came from the Congo and all over the world they came in.”
One Kinshasa resident, Jonathan Bawolo responded to Trump’s statement by saying, “we are a country that is so rich that we’re not selfish, and we don’t harass foreigners in the streets to ask for their identity papers”. Read more
‘Horniest’ new horror leaves movie-goers clutching their pearls over X-rated scenes (Metro)
A new horror film dubbed the ‘horniest’ released this year has cinemagoers barking at the screen due to its x-rated content.
Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, sees long-time collaborator Michael B Jordan appear as twins Smoke and Stack as they return to their hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, from the bright lights of Chicago.
Armed with a bag full of cash, the duo buy a property to turn into their own blues bar, enlisting the help of their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) and other loved ones to get the ‘juke joint’ up and running that very night. Read more
Husband describes ‘horror’ as wife fatally hit by van at golf course after police chase (Sky)
A husband has described how he watched in “helpless horror” as his wife was fatally hit by a van at a golf course after the vehicle was involved in a police chase.
Suzanne Cherry, 62, died in hospital four days after she was struck on the morning of 11 April, Staffordshire Police said.
Two patrol cars had been following the grey Nissan van in Kingstanding, Birmingham, after receiving reports of suspicious activity, according to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Read more
Ofili, Godbless, Ajayi qualify for 2025 World Athletics Championships (Guardian)
United States-based Nigerian sprinters, Favour Ofili, Kanyinsola Ajayi and Tima Godbless, at the weekend, qualified for the 2025 World Championships billed for Tokyo, Japan, in August.
While Ofili stormed to a 22.34 seconds finish behind reigning Olympic 100m champion, Julien Alfred (21.88) at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida to get her 2025 campaign to a brilliant start, Ajayi fulfilled his expectations of becoming the next Nigerian sprinter to break 10 seconds in the 100m event after recording a 9.96 seconds lifetime best to win the blue ribband event at same venue.
Ofili ended last season with a 22.05 personal season’s best, an improvement on the 22.11 seconds that she ran indoors in 2023, while a year earlier, she raced to a 21.96 finish to make history as the first Nigerian to break 22 seconds in the half lap event. Read more
Real Madrid ready to pay Osimhen’s €75m release clause (Sun)
Red-hot Super Eagles forward, Victor Osimhen has drawn interest from Real Madrid due to his impressive physique, high goal-scoring percentage, and explosive performances, according to Spanish news outlet Fichajes.
The €75 million transfer fee does not deter Real Madrid. Florentino Perez’s priority is to acquire a top-level “number 9” for the team. Los Galacticos are searching for a striker who can make an immediate impact and change the outcome of games.
Osimhen, 26, is considered one of the few players who can fulfil this requirement, thanks to his youth and finishing skills. Read more
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors overcome Houston Rockets rebounders, take Game 1 (UPI)
Stephen Curry scored a game-high 31 points and the Golden State Warriors overcame a major rebounding deficit to beat the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Curry made 12 of 19 shots, including five 3-pointers, in the 95-85 victory Sunday in Houston. Warriors forward Jimmy Butler chipped in 24 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals.
“Just the idea of what it was going to take to beat this particular team was just a grind-it-out type of performance that we had,” Curry said. Read more
Brundle ‘doesn’t buy’ Lewis Hamilton remarks in cutting Ferrari analysis (PlanetF1)
Martin Brundle said he “doesn’t buy” Lewis Hamilton’s explanation that he does not understand the Ferrari car in a cutting analysis of the season so far.
Hamilton finished 31 seconds behind his team-mate Charles Leclerc in Saudi Arabia in another underwhelming result for the 40-year-old.
Martin Brundle ‘doesn’t buy’ Lewis Hamilton explanation
Aside from a sprint victory in China, Hamilton’s form at Ferrari has been patchy at best, with Leclerc beating him in every grand prix of the year so far. Read more
Football matches in Italy postponed after death of Pope Francis (Metro)
All four Serie A matches scheduled to take place today have been postponed following the death of Pope Francis.
The Pope passed away aged 88 on Easter Monday and tributes are being paid across the globe for the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church.Francis – who was elected into the post in March 2013 after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI – appeared in front of huge crowds in the Vatican on Sunday. Read more