Lady falls victim to Lagos ‘one-chance’ syndicate (Guardian)
A lady, Bukola Afolarin, yesterday, narrowly escaped being blinded, after she boarded a ‘one-chance’ at Gbagada, on her way to work in Victoria Island, Lagos.
It is not uncommon for Lagos residents living on the Mainland, but working on the Island, to board cars going to their routes to reduce cost when compared to commercial buses.
Usually, cars going to Obalande from Oshodi take between N200 and N300, against commercial buses that charge between N500 and N700.Afolarin, who usually comes to Gbagada Bus Stop, along Oshodi-Oworonshoki Expressway, to board a vehicle going to the area where she works, was not lucky, yesterday, as she fell victim to the syndicate. Read more
Without OBIdients, Nigeria would have been swept over by tyranny — Shehu Sani (Tribune)
Shehu Sani, a social critic and former Nigerian lawmaker has said the supporters of the Labour Party (LP), popularly called ‘OBIdients’ are the reason Nigeria has not fallen into dictatorship.
According to him, the Obidients have become a bone stuck in the neck of the ruling party.
Sani, who has been a focal voice since the February 25 presidential election, commended Peter Obi’s army of supporters over their huge impact on the polity. Read more
Obi raises alarm over impersonation, framing plot in UK (Sun)
Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi has raised the alarm over plot to impersonate and frame him in the United Kingdom.
The former Anambra State governor, who recently returned to the country from London where he celebrated Easter, said he was harassed by immigration officials in the country and detained over impersonation. He said he was saved by the spontaneous reaction of Nigerians at Heathrow Airport, London.
A statement by the Obi-Datti media team, yesterday, said the immigration officials who questioned the LP presidential candidate were forced by Nigerians at the airport to reveal that he was held for a duplication offence. Read more
Lagos pledges support for journalists (Punch)
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr Olumide Sogunle, has pledged the ministry’s unwavering support to the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Lagos Information Chapel, for the seamless discharge of its mandate.
This was as he congratulated the executive and members of NUJ, Lagos Information, for hosting the 17th edition of the annual Ramadan Lecture.
Sogunle made the pledge at the 2023 Ramadan Lecture, the 17th edition in the series, at the Adeyemi-Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja, the state capital, where he was represented by the Deputy Director of the ministry, Mr Tunde Olalere. Read more
NEMA receives 152 Nigerian returnees from Libya (Channels)
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received 152 Nigerian returnees from Libya through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
NEMA Zonal Coordinator for South-West, Ibrahim Farinloye, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
Farinloye said the returnees departed Libya aboard a chartered Al Buraq Air Boeing 737-800 with registration number 5A-DMG Buraq Aircraft. Read more
Hajj 2023: Lagos raises hajj fare to N3.2m (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Government has approved the sum of N3,200,000.00 being the total fare to be paid by Intending Pilgrims performing the Year 2023 Hajj exercise in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board.
This was disclosed by the Hon. Commissioner for Home Affairs, Prince Anofiu Olanrewaju Elegushi, during a meeting with the intending pilgrims and other stakeholders at the Shamsi Adisa Thomas (SAT) Mosque, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, April, 2023.
Recall that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON after considering all the Hajj components and differences in the distance according to regions as related to flights, fixed N2,999,000 for Lagos, Ogun and Oyo. Read more
Borno Assembly member-elect dies (DailyTrust)
A former Borno State Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation and State House Assembly member-elect for Chibok Local Government Area, Dr. Nuhu Clark, has passed away in India after a protracted illness.
According to a family source, he had been hospitalised for months before he passed away on Tuesday evening in India.
“With total submission to the will of God, I announce to the House the death of Hon Dr. Nuhu Clark, an elder brother to our Chairperson Ladi Clark (Mrs). The sad event occurred today in India, where he was receiving treatment,” the source said. Read more
Abducted Imo police inspector’s corpse found in bush (Guardian)
The corpse of a police inspector, Augustine Ukegbu, kidnapped by gunmen during the Easter celebration, has been found dumped in a bush near his ancestral home.
Ukegbu, a serving officer at Orji Police Divisional headquarters, Owerri North, Imo State, had travelled to his ancestral home in Umuoshike Ogbor, Aboh Mbaise Local Council of Imo State, to join in the celebration of Easter, when he was abducted by gunmen.
The late Ukegbu, had served in the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Department of the police in the state. The Guardian learnt that some hoodlums invaded the deceased’s home on April 8, 2023, at about 11:00pm., abducted and dumped him in a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), before zooming off to an unknown destination. Read more
Ghana first to approve ‘world-changer’ malaria vaccine (BBC)
Ghana is the first country to approve a new malaria vaccine that has been described as a “world-changer” by the scientists who developed it.
The vaccine – called R21 – appears to be hugely effective, in stark contrast to previous ventures in the same field.
Ghana’s drug regulators have assessed the final trial data on the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, which is not yet public, and have decided to use it.
The World Health Organization is also considering approving the vaccine. Read more
Jamie Foxx’s daughter says he’s on his “Way to Recovery” after experiencing a medical complication (THR)
Jamie Foxx is recovering from a medical complication.
According to Foxx’s daughter, Corinne, the actor “experienced a medical complication” and is “already on his way to recovery.” The Oscar winner is currently shooting his upcoming Netflix film, ‘‘Back in Action,’’ in Atlanta and was previously in production in the United Kingdom.
The 29-year-old actress released a statement from the Foxx family on her Instagram that read, “We wanted to share that my father, Jamie Foxx, experienced a medical complication yesterday. Luckily, due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery.” Read more
Storm Noa causes injuries, power cuts and chaos throughout the UK (Metro)
Wreckage lines the roads and hundreds of properties have been left without power as Storm Noa continues to wreak havoc across the UK.
In Fareham, Hampshire, a woman has been reported to have been seriously injured after scaffolding fell onto a main shopping street.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service assisted the woman following the incident in West Street at about 1.45pm before she was passed to the care of paramedics, according to the BBC. Read more
Anne Perry, killer turned crime writer, dies aged 84 (Guardian)
A British crime writer who helped bludgeon her friend’s mother to death as a teenager and was the inspiration for Peter Jackson’s film Heavenly Creatures has died in Los Angeles, her publisher announced Wednesday. She was 84.
Anne Perry, a prolific author whose period thrillers have sold over 25m copies worldwide, was 15 years old when she and her friend Pauline Parker murdered Pauline’s mother in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1954. Honora Mary Parker died after being hit with a brick about 20 times, in a killing that shocked and captivated the country.
A trial heard that the two girls had plotted the murder in a bid to avoid being separated when 16-year-old Parker’s parents were planning to send her abroad. Read more
Disneyland Ride with racist roots is finally closing (HuffPost)
Disneyland has finally set the date for Splash Mountain’s last ride.
The theme park announced that the longtime attraction is shutting down on May 31, almost 34 years after its debut at the “Happiest Place on Earth,” multiple outlets reported.
The closure comes after years of criticism about the ride’s origins, the 1946 Disney movie Song Of The South. The children’s film is based on the Reconstruction-era “Uncle Remus” folktales and has been accused of romanticizing plantation life in the post-slavery era. Read more
Daddy Yankee, Queen Latifah, ‘Super Mario’ added to National Recording Registry (USAToday)
The National Recording Registry is slotting in some pioneers among its 2023 entries.
Queen Latifah becomes the first female rapper to join the ranks with her 1989 debut album, “All Hail the Queen,” “Super Mario Bros.” composer Koji Kondo is the architect of the first video game soundtrack to enter the registry, and Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” is the first reggaeton selection.
This year’s list of 25 recordings regarded as “audio treasures” by the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress was announced Wednesday by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. The songs are recognized as worthy of preservation based on “their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage,” according to the library. Read more
North Korean missile launch sparks emergency alerts in Japan (VOA)
North Korea fired a ballistic missile Thursday, Japanese and South Korean officials said, prompting emergency alerts and evacuation warnings on Japan’s northernmost main island.
Residents in Hokkaido were warned to immediately take shelter in their basements, and some public transit systems in the area were temporarily stopped, according to Japanese media.
About 20 minutes after the alerts were issued, however, Japanese officials retracted the warning, saying the North Korean missile was not expected to land in Hokkaido. Read more
NPFL: Lobi edge Rivers in Jos thriller (Punch)
Lobi Stars maintained top spot in Group B of the abridged 2022/23 Nigeria Professional Football League following a nervy 3-2 win over 10-man Rivers United in a rescheduled match-day 11 tie in Jos on Wednesday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
After a goalless first half which saw goalkeeper Victor Sochima sent off for the visitors, the second forty-five minutes produced five goals with the defending champions clawing the hosts until the final minutes.
Farouk Mohammed opened the scoring for Rivers United from a free kick in the 63rd minute before Abba Umar restored parity for Lobi Stars almost immediately with his sixth goal of the season. Read more
Vinícius, Benzema lead Real Madrid past Chelsea 2-0 in CL (ABC)
Karim Benzema struck yet again against Chelsea, and Real Madrid is a step closer to eliminating the English club for the second straight season in the Champions League.
Vinícius Júnior thrived with two assists and Marco Asensio also scored in Madrid’s 2-0 win in the first leg of the quarterfinals on Wednesday in the latest meeting between the last two European champions.
Chelsea played the final half-hour with 10 men after Ben Chilwell was sent off for stopping a Madrid breakaway. It was a second consecutive defeat for new Chelsea interim manager Frank Lampard after he replaced Graham Potter amid the team’s disappointing results. Read more
Michael Salisbury dropped from Premier League duties (Eurosport)
Michael Salisbury, the official responsible for controversially failing to award Brighton a penalty during Saturday’s Premier League defeat to Tottenham, has been dropped by refereeing body PGMOL.
Kaoru Mitoma went down in the Spurs box under a challenge from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg when the score was still 1-1 in a crucial game for the top-four race, but referee Stuart Attwell waved away appeals for a spot kick.
Attwell’s decision was then confirmed by VAR official Salisbury, who has been overlooked for the next round of Premier League games as a result. Read more
LaVine scores 39, Bulls beat Raptors 109-105 in play-in game (ESPN)
Zach LaVine scored 39 points, DeMar DeRozan had 23 against his former team and the Chicago Bulls overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Toronto Raptors 109-105 in a play-in tournament game Wednesday night.
The Bulls will visit the Miami Heat on Friday night for the chance to earn the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, and a first-round playoff matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, who trailed 66-47 in the third quarter but took the lead by making four of seven attempts from 3-point range in the fourth. Chicago shot 3 for 19 from distance through the first three quarters. Read more
Jon Rahm resists urge to skip trip to RBC Heritage and targets ‘‘jacket double’’ (IrishIndependent)
Masters champion Jon Rahm is gunning for a “jacket double” in the RBC Heritage after resisting the temptation to follow Rory McIlroy’s lead and skip the trip to Hilton Head.
The World No 1, who admitted he’s already given some thought to next year’s Champions Dinner menu at Augusta National, is determined not just to parade himself at Harbor Town Golf Links but contend for the champion’s tartan jacket and his fifth win from 10 starts this year.
Top players can skip one of the 17 designated events and still receive their Player Impact Programme (PIP) money. But while Rahm had a chance to do so this week, having played all seven so far, he decided to make the short trip to South Carolina. Read more
Deadly stadium crush: Indonesian soccer clubs meet for 1st time following disaster (CNN)
Two of Indonesia’s biggest soccer teams Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya played behind closed doors Tuesday in their first meeting since the deadly stadium disaster that killed more than 130 people in October.
The crush began when a number of the 42,000 Arema FC supporters ran onto the pitch following their 3-2 loss to rival Persebaya Surabaya at the Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang, East Java in October.
Some clashed with police, prompting security forces to fire tear gas into enclosed areas of the stadium – a crowd control measure banned by world soccer governing body FIFA. Read more