I watched helplessly as mob set my son ablaze – Ondo mother (Punch)
Last Easter Monday, when Christians all over the world were celebrating Jesus Christ, an Uber driver, Tope Olorunfemi, was begging for his life in the Ijoka area of Akure, Ondo State.
A bloodthirsty horde milled around him, hitting him with stones and sticks, as they accused him of being an Internet fraudster, aka Yahoo boy.
By his side was his mother, Mojisola, who appealed to the mob to let go of her son, who was only visiting the town because his wife and child were holidaying with her.
Instead of heeding the pleas, the mob made to burn her with her son. Read more
Eko bridge to be open to vehicular traffic on May 31 (Guardian)
The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Engr. Umar Bakare has stated that a section of Eko Bridge closed to vehicular traffic would be open by May 31.
Bakare said that rehabilitation works on the bridge is ongoing, especially at the fire-damaged section of Apongbon.
In a statement, on Sunday, he added that work is being concentrated on the restoration of the structural defect caused by the inferno, and once this is completed, he revealed that the bridge will be opened to traffic by the 31st of May, 2023 while work will continue on the other sections of the rehabilitated bridge. Read more
NDLEA arrests Lekki bizman, pregnant woman, others (Nation)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA says it has intercepted consignments of Tramadol, Rohypnol, Ecstasy (Designer drug) and Cannabis concealed in winter jackets and bottles of body cream at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja Lagos.
It said the psychoactive substances were recovered at the new terminal of the airport on Friday April 14 following the arrest of a passenger, Joshia Sunday, who was traveling on a Qatar Airlines flight via Doha to Oman in the Middle East.
Spokesman of the Agency, Femi Babafemi, who revealed this is in a statement on Sunday, said a thorough search of the suspect’s two black bags led to the discovery of 4.80 kilograms of cannabis concealed in three winter jackets and various quantities of Tramadol, Rohypnol, Ecstasy (Designer drug) hidden in bottles of body lotion. Read more
Why we nullified Binani’s declaration as Adamawa Gov-elect – INEC (Vanguard)
The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has declared as null and void, the purported declaration of the All Progressives Congress APC Governorship Candidate in Adamawa state, Aisha Dahiru Binani by the state Resident Electoral Commissioner REC as duly elected.
According to the commission, the REC has no such powers as only the Returning Officer for the election is constitutionally mandated to make returns.
Besides, the commission said the election had not been concluded when the said illegal declaration was made. Read more
INEC national commissioner stripped in Adamawa (DailyTrust)
A National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) (name withheld) has been stripped by unknown persons in Adamawa State.
In a video seen by Daily Trust, the elderly man was seen being interrogated by some men.
“Tell us the truth and we will spare your life,” one of the men said in a commanding tone.
Another of the fellows ordered the elderly man to “put on your trousser”, to which the electoral official shook his head and mumbled some inaudible words. Read more
Trending: 25% votes in FCT mandatory — Ex-INEC REC (Tribune)
Former Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akwa Ibom, Mike Igini, in a now-viral video was quoted saying Nigeria’s Constitution mandated a candidate to score 25 percent of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) before being declared winner in presidential poll.
Recall many Nigerians had interpreted the relevant section of the constitution, which has portrayed different meanings that a presidential candidate must win FCT.
This follows INEC’s declaration of Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate as the winner of the February 25 poll despite failing to secure 25% votes in the FCT. Read more
ILO parleys NYSC on curtailing irregular migration (Sun)
The International Labour Organisation (ILO), yesterday, called on the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) to establish a Community Development Service (CDS) labour migration to stem the tides of irregular migrations that have resulted to hazards on the victims.
The country Director of ILO for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Liaison Office for ECOWAS, Vanessa Phala made the call in Benin City while on a tour of facilities at the Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) in the state.
The facility was built with support from the ILO for capacity building and training of potentials migrants and returnees using various organizations as partners. Read more
CBN approves George-Taylor as new MD/CEO Heritage Bank (ThisDay)
The Board of Directors of Heritage Bank has announced Mr. Akinola George-Taylor as the substantive Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank.
Mr Ozena Utulu, Group Head, Corporate Communications of the bank, said this in a statement on Sunday.
The statement said that his appointment received a letter of no objection from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on March 31. Read more
Taylor Swift donates enough to feed 125k at Tampa Bay food bank (NME)
Taylor Swift donated enough meals to feed roughly 125,000 people ahead of her three-night Era’s tour run at the Raymond James Stadium.
This is not the first time the pop icon has made a generous contribution. She has quietly made donations to food banks in Arizona during the first night of her tour as well as Nevada.
Ahead of her Raymond James Stadium residency kicking off this week, the charity Feeding Tampa Bay shared a photo of the singer thanking her for “being a HERO in supporting their “mission to end hunger by 2025”. “Your generosity will place over 125,000 meals on tables!” they added. Read more
Bad Bunny appears to shade Harry Styles during historic Coachella headline set (Metro)
Rapper Bad Bunny took time out of his monumental Coachella headline set to take a dig at Harry Styles.
The Puerto Rican musician, real name Benito Ocasio, became the first Latino artist to headline the iconic California festival on Friday.
The Diles hitmaker, 29, seemingly used his set to criticize the Watermelon Sugar artist by highlighting a social media post about Styles, who headlined the festival last year. Read more
Sudanese paramilitary force ready to ease return of Egyptian Troops (VOA)
The head of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said on Saturday that his forces were ready to cooperate with Egypt to ease the return of Egyptian troops who had handed themselves over to the group in the northern Sudanese town of Merowe.
Two Egyptian security sources said Egyptian officials were able to contact the leader of the Egyptian unit to confirm they were safe.
After clashes erupted across Sudan between the RSF and the army, the RSF shared a video they said showed Egyptian troops who had surrendered to them in Merowe, about halfway between the Sudanese capital Khartoum and the border with Egypt. Read more
More than 6k personnel to take part in King Charles III’s coronation (Forces)
More than 6,000 men and women of the UK Armed Forces will take part in the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Saturday 6 May.
Soldiers, sailors and aviators from across the UK and Commonwealth will participate in two processions accompanying their Majesties to and from Westminster Abbey, where the coronation takes place – the largest military ceremonial operation for 70 years.
Nearly 400 Armed Forces personnel from at least 35 Commonwealth countries will also be on parade to mark the historic moment. Read more
Why alleged Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira had top secret access aged 21 (BBC)
How was a 21-year-old junior member of a reserve force allegedly able to access top secret US documents?
Access to classified intelligence is actually much more common than it might seem.
Jack Teixeira, who appeared in court on Friday, worked as a cyber transport systems journeyman with the US Air National Guard.
A description on the US Air Force website outlines the minimum requirements for his job. Read more
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo offer first look at Glinda and Elphaba in Wicked movie adaptation (Metro)
We have our first look at Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Wicked – and we’re already in love.
Pop star Ariana, 29, and West End icon Cynthia, 36, will star alongside one another in the big-screen adaptation of the musical Wicked.
The former Nickelodeon star will be taking on the role of Glinda, while Cynthia is playing Elphaba.
In first-look images, we see Ariana in full costume and if these shots are anything to go by, we’re in for a true spectacle. Read more
Joe Biden says Ireland trip ‘reinforced’ his decision to run for re-election in 2024 (inews)
US President Joe Biden said his trip to Ireland “reinforced” his determination over an expected run for a second term in office.
Although he has yet to formally declare his bid for re-election in 2024, the President said the announcement would be made “relatively soon”.
“I told you my plan is to run again,” President Biden said as he prepared to fly home following a four-day state trip to the island of Ireland. “But the trip here just reinforced my sense of optimism about what can be done.” Read more
MMA: 10 fighters clash at Sunday’s OFU Fight Night 2 in Lekki (Guardian)
Organisers of the One Fight Ultimate (OFU) Fight Night on Saturday said that no fewer than 10 fighters are set to compete for honours at the OFU Fight Night 2, scheduled to hold on Sunday.
Chief Ifeobi Udo, the OFU President, told a press conference to herald the event coming up on April 16, expressed confidence in organising an entertaining show.
He urged lovers of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to come out in numbers to come and experience what he sees as the mother of shows in the Nigerian sports entertainment as regards to combat sports. Read more
Ndidi performance against Man City, a ‘nightmare’ – Ex-Chelsea player Carney (Punch)
The performance of Leicester City’s midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, in Saturday’s Premier League match against Manchester City has been described as a ‘nightmare’ by former Chelsea Women’s striker, Karen Carney.
The handball caused by Ndidi resulted in Man City’s second goal which was scored by Erling Haaland.
The referee didn’t initially award a penalty to Man City but changed his decision after he was told to go to the monitor by the Video Assistant Referee, VAR. Read more
Rublev fights back to reach Monte Carlo Masters final (DailyTrust)
Andrey Rublev battled back from a set down to beat big-serving American Taylor Fritz yesterday and reached his second Monte Carlo Masters final.
Russian fifth seed Rublev claimed a 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 victory and will face either Jannik Sinner or Danish teenager Holger Rune in Sunday’s final.
The 25-year-old is bidding to go one better than in 2021 when he lost the final to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“It was really tough, especially against Taylor,” Rublev said after his first win in his last four meetings with Fritz. Read more
Lazio captain in hospital after car hits tram (BBC)
Italy striker Ciro Immobile is being treated for back and rib injuries in hospital after his car was involved in an accident with a tram in Rome.
Photographs show police at the scene of a collision between a tram and a car.
Immobile, 33, scored in Lazio’s 3-0 Serie A win at Spezia on Friday.
Lazio said he had a “sprain trauma of the spine” and a “compound fracture” of his right rib but that “conditions are currently good”. Read more
Manchester City have been working on Jude Bellingham transfer for 6 months (Metro)
Manchester City have already been working on their charm offensive to sign Jude Bellingham for the past six months and will push to secure a deal this summer, according to reports.
The 19-year-old is wanted by a host of Europe’s biggest clubs after another excellent campaign for club and country, with Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United all lurking.
Liverpool had thought to be the frontrunner for his signature, with Bellingham having become close to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson on England duty while he idolised Anfield legend Steven Gerrard growing up. Read more
Leroy Sane sports a bruised lip against Hoffenheim after he was punched by Sadio Mane (DailyMail)
Leroy Sane has emerged with a bruised lip for the first pictures since he was punched by Bayern Munich teammate Sadio Mane.
Sane was named in the starting XI for Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern in their home league game against Hoffenheim – their first match since the punching incident after Tuesday’s Champions League defeat to Manchester City.
Tuchel confirmed that Mane will miss just one game for his punch at the German, and that the 31-year-old Senegalese forward could feature for the return leg against Man City on Wednesday. Read more