Gunmen storm LG secretariat in Ekiti, days after Oyo Assembly invasion (Vanguard)
Days after armed Yoruba Nation agitators invaded the Oyo State Government secretariat, gunmen on Tuesday, stormed the Ilejemeje local government area secretariat in Ẹda-Oniyọ, Ekiti State, causing panic and chaos among workers.
The attackers disrupted normal activities and forced employees to flee the premises for safety.
The hoodlums who were said to have come from the Obbo-Ayegunle community in the neighbouring Kwara State, violently stormed the secretariat, firing several gunshots, making workers run in different directions, running for dear lives, and in the ensuing pandemonium, one of them was injured. Read more
Court remands 5 over alleged armed robbery (Nation)
An Iyaganku Magistrates’ Court Ibadan, on Tuesday remanded five men in a correctional facility over alleged armed robbery.
The defendants, Abiodun Solomon, 24; Abdulahi Alejolowo, 26; Emmanuel Ayobami, 31; Kazeem Saka, 37 and Taofeek Lawal, 35, whose addresses were not given, are being charged with conspiracy and armed robbery.
The Prosecutor, Insp Olalekan Adegbite told the court that the defendants committed the offence at about 2.00a.m on Jan. 8 at the Olode area of Ibadan. Read more
NCAA suspends 3 private jet operators over illegal operation (DailyTrust)
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended the permit of three private jet owners for violating the terms of their permits and using their jets for commercial purpose.
Recall that the NCAA had earlier deepened surveillance on holders of permit for non commercial flights (PNCF) over several reports of using their aircraft for hire and reward thereby violating their permit.
But the NCAA through its acting Director-General, Capt. Chris Najomo, said following its heightened surveillance no fewer than three private operators had been found to be involved in violation of the annexure provision of their PNCF and Part 9114 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations 2023. Read more
Gunmen kill PDP LG secretary in Zamfara (Channels)
Gunmen suspected to be bandits have killed Musa Ille, the Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Ille was killed in front of his house when the assailant invaded his house on Monday night.
The PDP Chairman in the local government, Garba Garewa, confirmed the killing of the party’s secretary in Tsafe to Channels Television on Tuesday. Read more
NIDCOM, USAID partner on diaspora engagements (ThisDay)
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has secured a strategic cooperation and collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID-NIGERIA), for diaspora engagements, particularly on youth empowerment, to deepen socio-economic development of the country.
A statement signed by Gabriel Odu of the Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit at NIDCOM, said USAID would also partner with NiDCOM on this year’s National Diaspora Day Celebrations.
The statement said these agreements were reached during a visit by USAID delegation to NiDCOM office in Abuja. Read more
UNICEF blames rising out-of-school children menace on kidnapping (Tribune)
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has lamented that the negative impacts of incidents of abduction and kidnapping of school children have contributed to the rising statistics of out-of-school children.
This is just as body advocated for unity of purpose by families, communities and the government to protect child education in the face of rising insecurity around schools.
The UNICEF Chief of field office Mr Rahma Rihood Mohammed Farah made the call during the 10th anniversary Commemoration of the Chibok girls held in Kano. Read more
Soldiers kill 12 terrorists in Zamfara raid (Punch)
Troops of the Nigerian Army deployed for Counter-Terrorism Counter-Insurgency operations in the North West killed 12 terrorists and destroyed their camp in Zamfara State on Monday.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
The statement read, “Acting on credible intelligence on the activities of the terrorists, troops conducted a targeted clearance operation to dismantle the suspected terrorists’ operational base in the town of Maru. Read more
Mrs Tinubu in Jos, regrets renewed killings in Plateau, empowers 20 women in agric support programme (Sun)
First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has said that she’s disheartened by the escalation of killings in Plateau State.
She spoke at the launching of the Renewed Hope Initiative Women Agricultural Support Programme (RHI-WASP) for the North Central zone in Jos on Tuesday
She prayed for the repose of the souls of all those affected by the recent clashes in the state. Read more
Latto defends her dad from ‘pedo’ claims after scrutiny over her parents’ age gap (HipHopDx)
Latto has come to the defense of her father after he received much criticism online because of the age gap between her parents.
The controversy erupted after the “Big Energy” rapper posted a picture of her mother at 15 years old, shortly after she gave birth to her.
A post then went viral claiming that Latto’s father was 23 at the time. Read more
Nicole Scherzinger’s fiancé Thom Evans admits they “can’t wait to start a family’’ (Mirror)
Thom Evans has shared a rare insight into his relationship with Nicole Scherzinger.
The former rugby player has spoken about his upcoming wedding to the award-winning West End star after her show Sunset Boulevard swept the Olivier Awards. The show picked up seven wins, including Best Actress in a Musical for Nicole.
Thom revealed he and Nicole are excitedly planning their wedding and “can’t wait” to start a family together. “Well, I’m looking to get married soon,” he told Men’s Health UK in the magazine’s latest issue. “I proposed to my fiancée in June 2023. It was one of the best days of my life. Getting married to her and starting a family is something I can’t wait for.” Read more
Muslim girl loses court case challenging ban on prayers at ‘Britain’s strictest school’ (Metro)
A Muslim pupil has lost a High Court challenge against a ban on prayer rituals at a high-achieving north London school previously dubbed Britain’s strictest.
The student, who cannot be named, took legal action against Michaela Community School in Brent, claiming the policy was discriminatory and ‘uniquely’ affected her faith due to its ritualised nature.
She argued the school’s stance on prayer – one of the five pillars of Islam – unlawfully breached her right to religious freedom and was ‘the kind of discrimination which makes religious minorities feel alienated from society’. Read more
Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler are Romeo + Juliet in new broadway production with music by Jack Antonoff (People)
Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler will make their Broadway debuts this fall, in a new production of William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet.
The Bard’s classic 1597 tragedy, about the romance of two Italian youths from feuding families, will return to the boards in a revival helmed by an award-winning creative team — with direction and movement from Tony Award winners Sam Gold and Sonya Tayeh, respectively, and music by Grammy Award winner Jack Antonoff.
It will by the first time Antonoff, 40, has worked on Broadway, too, though not the first time his music had made it to the Great White Way. The hit song “We Are Young,” released in 2012 by Antonoff’s band fun., is among the tunes sung in the Tony-winning best musical, Moulin Rouge! Read more
Armenia claims Azerbaijan ‘completed’ ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh (AlJazeera)
Azerbaijan has “completed” the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia claimed to the UN’s top court.
In a case brought by Yerevan against its Caucus neighbour and rival over alleged discrimination and ethnic cleansing, lawyers for Armenia on Tuesday told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Baku is “erasing all traces of ethnic Armenians’ presence” in the contested territory.
“After threatening to do so for years, Azerbaijan has completed the ethnic cleansing of the region,” Armenia’s representative Yeghishe Kirakosyan claimed. Read more
Mike Johnson unveils plan to move Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan aid as separate bills this week (NBC)
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday unveiled a plan to advance foreign aid to Israel, Ukraine and Tawain in separate bills and move a fourth piece of legislation wrapping other Republican national security priorities together.
Those GOP priorities would include implementing a loan-lease program for Ukraine aid, which would lend Ukraine money backed by seized Russian assets, and imposing more sanctions on Iran.
Johnson’s outlined the plan in remarks to reporters after what he described as a “fruitful and productive” GOP conference meeting Monday evening. The speaker did not mention a ban on TikTok, but other lawmakers leaving the meeting appeared to believe that could be included in the package. He indicated funding levels for the national security bills will be about the same as those proposed in the Senate supplemental aid package. Read more
Coral reefs: Warming ocean waters fuel fourth global bleaching event (AfricaNews)
The health of the world’s coral has significantly deteriorated, scientists at the world’s top coral reef monitoring body warned Monday (Apr. 15).
Experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) said that coral reef bleaching across at least 53 countries, territories or local economies has been confirmed from February 2023 to now.
“Today’s announcement is basically a warning that, you know, we’re seeing climate change impacts, simultaneously impacting essentially coral reefs around the entire planet,” Derek Manzello, NOAA Coral Reef Watch coordinator said. Read more
Beach volleyball: 29 teams battle for President Cup (Leadership)
A total of 29 beach volleyball teams are battling for various prizes on offer at the 2024 edition of the President Beach volleyball Cup competition holding at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.
The 8 days long competition is expected to see various teams battling for superiority against one another.
Speaking on the sideline of the opening games, the technical director of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), Martins Melandi, said the competition will also serve as preparation for the continental’s Olympic qualifying championship coming up later in the year. Read more
Nwabali relishes clean sheet in Chippa cup win (Punch)
Super Eagles first choice Stanley Nwabali is overjoyed after keeping a clean sheet as his team, Chippa United, defeated TS Galaxy FC 2-0 in a cup tie at the Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, on Sunday.
Bienvenu Eva Nga and Roscoe Pietersen scored in each half as the visitors romped to the road win and progressed to the next stage of the Nedbank Cup.
The 27-year-old, who wasn’t listed for their PSL 2-0 home win over Kaizer Chiefs on April 6 at the Buffalo City Stadium, East London — obviously not due to form concerns, shared his excitement in a post on his Instagram page on Monday. Read more
Michael Slater: Former Australia batter refused bail on domestic violence charges (BBC)
Former Australia batter Michael Slater has been refused bail and remanded in custody over domestic violence charges.
Slater, 54, reportedly collapsed after being denied bail by a Queensland court and had to be helped to his feet by prison officers before being led away.
He faces 19 charges relating to alleged offences between 5 December 2023 and 12 April. Read more
Alternative routes mapped out for Abuja City Half Marathon (Nation)
As the stage is set for the first edition of the Premium Trust Bank Abuja City International Half Marathon, being organised by Nilayo Sports Management Limited on Saturday, April 20th , the alternative roads and diversions that would keep the people of the Federal Capital Territory, out of the designated route, for upmost of four hours have been announced to enable the people plan for the day.
According to the Federal Road Safety Corps, from the start point at the Abuja City Gate,
Traffic will be diverted to the service lane to climb the bridge. Read more
Formula 1 releases first Impact Report tracking sustainability efforts (F1i)
Formula 1 has announced a significant reduction in its carbon footprint, marking a 13% decrease between 2018 and 2022, as part of its ongoing commitment to halve its emissions by 2030.
The initiative, known as F1’s Net Zero by 2030 campaign, targets a 50% reduction in absolute carbon emissions compared to its 2018 baseline.
The action tackles all aspects of F1’s environmental impact: energy consumption at facilities, race events, and most significantly, travel and logistics between races. Read more
Katie Taylor set for historic Amanda Serrano rematch on Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul card (Independent)
Katie Taylor will face Amanda Serrano in July in a rematch of the biggest fight in the history of women’s boxing, with the bout announced as the co-main event of the Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul exhibition contest in Texas.
Taylor defeated Serrano by split decision in their historic clash at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2022, with the Irish fighter claiming the undisputed lightweight title in what many considered to be the fight of the year.
Taylor, 37, most recently defeated Chantelle Cameron in Dublin in their November rematch to reclaim her undisputed super-lightweight titles, after suffering the first defeat of her professional career against the same opponent the previous year. Read more