Injured pupils are in stable condition, receiving treatment (Guardian)
Some of the injured pupils in the building collapse at Ita-faji, Lagos Island, on Wednesday are in stable condition and still receiving adequate medical attention in some hospitals in Lagos. A visit by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Correspondent to the General Hospitals in Marina and Gbagada in Lagos, on Thursday, showed that some of the patients had been stabilised, while others were still being attended to. Names of the patients in stable condition had been posted at the General Hospital on Wednesday for easy identification of the victims by their relatives. Read more
Gov poll result: Uzodimma worked for Ihedioha’s victory, Okorocha alleges (Punch)
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has said that the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, and the party’s governorship candidate, Senator Hope Uzodimma, are to blame for the inability of the party to win the governorship election. He said posterity would judge the two for their alleged roles in the election. In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Sam Onwuemeodo in Owerri on Thursday, the governor alleged that Uzodinma worked for the Peoples Democratic Party in the just concluded elections. Read more
Be wary of praise-singers, Ajimobi tells Makinde (Guardian)
Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has admonished Seyi Makinde, the governor-elect to be wary of praise singers, avoid acrimony and make a frantic effort to leverage on relationships. The governor gave the advice when he received Makinde, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Thursday at the government house in Ibadan. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor-elect led his deputy, Mr Rauf Olaniyan, and several other members of his team on the courtesy call. Ajimobi, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), urged the governor-elect to leverage on his relationships, commending him for his noble move. Read more
Court adjourns hearing of Offa robbery suspects (Nation)
A Kwara state High Court sitting in Ilorin, the state capital on Thursday abruptly adjourned resumed trial of Offa robbery suspects citing security reports. The court had commenced sitting on the case at about 9am Thursday for the continuation of hearing as one of the prosecution witnesses Hitila Hassan continued to give his evidence in chief and was cross-examined by the defence counsel Mathias Emeribe. At some minutes past 2pm, presiding Judge, Justice Halimat Salman said “reports reaching us are not favourable for the continuation of the case today. I don’t have anything doing but the court had to rise for the case to continue tomorrow. Read more
Gunmen murder pregnant cop, DPO, two others in Edo (Punch)
Four police personnel were, on Tuesday, killed by some yet-to-be identified gunmen at the Afuze Police Station in Edo State. Afuze is the administrative headquarters of Owan East Local Government Area of the state. The Edo State Police Command gave the names of the murdered personnel as the Divisional Police Officer, Tosimani Ojo; the Divisional Crime Officer, Inspector Sado Isaac; Woman Sergeant Justina Aghomon, who was said to be pregnant; and Corporal Glory David. Read more
Court stops INEC from conducting supplementary poll in Adamawa (Guardian)
A state High Court in Yola Thursday ordered an injunction restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission from conducting a supplementary governorship election in Adamawa State on 23rd March. Justice Abdulaziz Waziri of State High Court gave the order following a motion ex parte filed by Movement of Restoration for Defence of Democracy, MRPD. “I hereby made the following orders: The defendant herein the Independent National Electoral Commission is restrained whether by themselves, their agents, servants, representatives, nominees or any other person from proceeding with the supplementary election with respect to Adamawa State Governorship pending the hearing and determination of Motion on notice,” the judge ordered. Read more
Couple dies after attending wedding in Aba (Nation)
A yet-to-be identified couple has reportedly lost their lives 24hrs after they attended a wedding ceremony in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State. The incident our reporter gathered happened at Umuozu, Uratta community in Osisioma local government area. When contacted, Abia State Command spokesman, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna said that he was yet to be informed on the incident. But our sources at Uratta that pleaded not to be mentioned said that the couple is from Anambra State. Read more
NDLEA raids Anambra parks, arrests 35 (Punch)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Thursday raided some motor parks in Anambra State and arrested no fewer than 35 alleged drug suspects. The agency carried out the raid in a joint operation with soldiers, police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Prisons Service and Nigeria Immigration Service. The area raided included Nnewi, Ihiala, Aba, Obosi, Okija, Okpoko, Owerri, Lagos and Benin parks in the state. Substances suspected to be cannabis sativa, cocaine and heroin were recovered from suspects. Read more
Cannon shot kills operator in Enugu (Punch)
The Police in Enugu State says that a local cannon shot had killed its operator in Ogbozinne community in Nkanu West Local Government Area of the state. Spokesman for Enugu State Police Command, SP Ebere Amaraizu, said in a statement on Thursday that the incident took place on March 11. Amaraizu said that the community had since been thrown into a mourning mood when a cannon gun allegedly exploded and pierced through the back of the operator. The Police spokesman said that the cannon operator was later confirmed dead by a doctor on duty in a general hospital in the area. Read more
I didn’t interrogate Akingbola, says EFCC witness (Nation)
A chief inspector at the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, Abdulraheem Jimoh, on Thursday told the Federal High Court in Lagos that he did not interrogate the bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Dr Erastus Akingbola during his investigation. Under cross-examination by defence counsel Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) during Akingbola’s trial before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, Jimoh, the second prosecution witness, said he relied on records of suspicious transactions. The witness said he did not know whether Intercontinental Securities Limited (ISL), a subsidiary of Intercontinental Bank, fully liquidated a loan obligation to Regal Finance Limited, adding that he did not ask. Read more
Abscondment: Two NYSC members remobilised as 950 pass out in Benue (Punch)
The Benue State Coordinator, National Youth Service Corps, Mr. Joshua Shicha on Thursday said two corps members of the 2018 Batch ‘A’ have been remobilised. Speaking during an interview with our correspondent in Makurdi, he also stated that the affected corps members, who he declined to name, were remobilised on the grounds of abscondment. He explained that the corps members were not seen at their places of primary assignment in three months. According to him, such an act is against NYSC rules and regulations. Read more
Ethiopian Airlines: Crash plane’s black boxes sent to Paris (BBC)
Investigators in France have taken charge of the crashed Ethiopian Airlines aircraft’s black boxes as they attempt to uncover what caused the Boeing 737 Max disaster. The Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) received the flight data and cockpit voice recorders on Thursday. The first readings could take days, but a lot depends on the boxes’ condition. It comes as regulators across the world continue to ground the Boeing aircraft. Read more
Convicted French cardinal Barbarin to meet Pope Francis Monday (Punch)
French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who received a six-month suspended jail sentence for failing to report sex abuse by a priest under his authority, will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican on Monday, officials in his southeastern Lyon diocese said. Barbarin, the most senior French cleric caught up in the global paedophilia scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church, had said after his conviction last week that he would travel to Rome to tender his resignation. The pontiff will grant the 68-year-old archbishop of Lyon a private audience at 10am (0900GMT), French church officials said. Read more
Trump faces Senate revolt in vote on border emergency (BBC)
President Donald Trump’s declaration of an emergency on the US-Mexico border looks likely to be dealt a blow by dissident Republican senators. Several members of the president’s own party are expected to rebel when the Senate votes on Thursday on a proposal to revoke his declaration. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives last month backed the measure. Mr Trump warned he was ready to veto the resolution. Read more
US election 2020: Beto O’Rourke launches presidential bid (BBC)
Former Texas congressman Robert “Beto” O’Rourke has formally announced he is running for president in the 2020 election after months of speculation. In his campaign video, the Democratic rising star said the US was facing a “defining moment of truth”. Mr O’Rourke, 46, is the 15th Democrat to declare his bid for the White House. In last year’s mid-term election, he ran a tight race against Republican Ted Cruz for his Senate seat, though it proved ultimately unsuccessful. But he did better than any Democrat in Texas for decades, running a media-friendly campaign that energised the Democratic party nationwide and drew comparisons with former President Barack Obama. Read more
Volkswagen boss apologises for Nazi gaffe (BBC)
The chief executive of Volkswagen has apologised for evoking a Nazi slogan to describe the importance of boosting the group’s profits. Herbert Diess used the line “Ebit macht frei” at a company event on Tuesday. The phrase echoes the maxim “Arbeit Macht Frei” – meaning “work sets you free” – which was famously emblazoned in wrought-iron on the gates of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Ebit is a commonly used acronym for “earnings before interest and taxes”. Read more
Emma Haruka Iwao smashes pi world record with Google help (BBC)
The value of the number pi has been calculated to a new world record length of 31 trillion digits, far past the previous record of 22 trillion. Emma Haruka Iwao, a Google employee from Japan, found the new digits with the help of the company’s cloud computing service. Pi is the number you get when you divide a circle’s circumference by its diameter. The first digits, 3.14, are well known but the number is infinitely long. Read more
Man Utd may face Champions League fixture reversal, say UEFA (Guardian)
The home leg of Manchester United’s Champions League quarter-final tie could be reversed in the event of a clash with that involving Manchester City, depending on the outcome of Friday’s draw, UEFA said on Thursday. The two Manchester clubs are through to the last eight alongside two other Premier League sides, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. Unlike in previous rounds, there is no longer any country protection in the draw, meaning teams from the same domestic league can now face one another. That throws open the possibility of a Manchester derby in the quarter-finals. Read more
Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette’s France snub explained by Didier Deschamps (Metro)
Didier Deschamps admits Alexandre Lacazette was unfortunate to miss out on being selected in his France squad ahead of the upcoming Euro 2020 World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Iceland. The Arsenal striker has been in sensational form for his club having scored 14 goals in all competitions and formed a devastating partnership with club-record signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Lacazette has won 13 caps for his country but hasn’t made an appearance for Les Bleus since scoring twice in a friendly against Germany back in November 2017. Read more
Southgate rules out England exit before Euro 2020 (Guardian)
Gareth Southgate has no plans to leave the England job before Euro 2020 but admits his future is uncertain after that. Southgate led England to their first World Cup semi-final appearance since 1990 during a memorable run in Russia last year. That was a huge boost to his reputation and England’s progress to the inaugural Nations League Finals later this year is another feather in his cap. The 48-year-old was linked with Manchester United before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s remarkable impact as interim boss effectively took him out of contention for the Old Trafford post. Read more