Lagos building collapse: Aisha Buhari visits victims in hospital (Punch)
The wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, on Saturday visited victims of the Ita-Faji building collapse at the Lagos Island General Hospital to sympathise with them. The wife of the President offered her condolences to the victims of the incident, which claimed the lives of no fewer than 20 people, including school children. Mrs Buhari, who took time to visit women and children wards of the hospital, prayed to God to grant the families that lost loved ones the fortitude to bear the loss. Read more
Lagos building collapse: Include psychiatric team in NEMA —consultant psychiatrist (Punch)
A Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Tomi Imarah, has called for a team of trained psychiatrists to be incorporated into the existing National Emergency Management Agency structure. Imarah, who runs an online mental health counselling service tagged, “Dr. Tomi Haven”, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday in Lagos. According to her, the team would offer Psychological First Aid to the victims of an emergency situation across the country, including children and family members. Read more
Don’t bow to pressure to rig supplementary polls, Group urges Buhari (Nation)
Nigerians in diaspora have urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to bow to pressure from any individual or political party, encouraging him not to meddle in the conducts of the supplementary polls in some States of the federation. The Nigerians in diaspora under the aegis of Concerned Kano Citizens (CKC) said there were alleged subterranean moves by some powerful individuals within the ranks of the All Progressives Congress to rig the inconclusive governorship election in Kano State. The group said the shocking outcome of the governorship election was caused by Governor Abdullahi Umaru Ganduje poor performances and corrupt tendencies that had dogged the APC-led government in Kano State. Read more
Ibadan building collapse: All trapped victims rescued, says Oyo govt (Punch)
Oyo State Government on Saturday morning disclosed that there was no casualty in the building collapse incident which occurred on Friday. Eyewitnesses said the building, located in Sogoye, along Bode, Molete area of Ibadan, Oyo State, had collapsed suddenly while still under construction, with several people injured and others trapped underneath. In a statement by the State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Toye Arulogun, the government stated that the multi-agency rescue operation team set up by the Governor was able to achieve the evacuation of all victims from the collapsed building which was under construction as at the time of the incident. Read more
Post-election: CAN wants warring factions to sheathe swords (Nation)
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Taraba Chapter, on Saturday called on warring factions in the violence that broke out in Jalingo following the announcement of the governorship election results in the state to sheathe their swords. Dr Innocent Solomon, the CAN Chairman in the state, made the call after a tour of the affected areas in Jalingo and a sympathy visit to the victims at the Specialist Hospital and the Federal Medical Center in Jalingo. Solomon assured the people that CAN and the Muslim Council were working closely with the State government to restore peace in the state. Read more
No return to modulated salary in Osun — Official (Guardian)
Mr Adelani Baderinwa, the immediate past Osun Commissioner for Information and Strategy, who is the current supervisor of same ministry, says it is untrue that the state government intends to return to the era of modulated salary, also known as half salaries. In a press statement released by Baderinwa on Saturday, he said it had come to the notice of the state government that some individuals and members of the opposition party were trying to incite the civil servants against the state government on payment of salary. Read more
Monarch advises Ugwuanyi on second term (Nation)
A foremost traditional ruler in Enugu State, Igwe Uche Anikwe, has urged Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to focus on entrepreneurship and empowerment, especially in the rural areas, in his second term in office. Anikwe, who is the traditional ruler of Diogbe Community in Igbo Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Enugu. He said that the victory of Ugwuanyi in the March 9 Governorship Election was well deserved, going by his performance and antecedent in the past three years. Read more
Elections: Bayelsa PDP, APC trade words over Clark-led Elders group’s comments (Punch)
The Bayelsa State chapters of the Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress have bickered over recent comments of Chief Edwin Clark’s group on the outcome of the 2019 General Elections. The Bayelsa APC had on Thursday criticised the Clark-led Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum for allegedly being partisan in their comments on the elections. But in a reaction on Saturday, the state’s PDP said the APC criticism of the group was disrespectful. Read more
Ibadan Disco decries attack on staff by hoodlums (Guardian)
The Management of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has described the attack on its staff in Ilesha, Osun, as barbaric and inhuman. The IBEDC, in a statement by its Regional Communication Officer, Kikelomo Owoeye on Saturday in Osogbo, said many of its staff were injured during the attack while unspecified amount of money was carted away. Owoeye said without any formal complaint to IBEDC on electricity problems, hoodlums from Bolorunduro and Olomilagba communities stormed its three business hubs in Isare, Isokun and Oke-Omiru service units in Ilesa with dangerous weapons. Read more
Identifying Ethiopia crash victims may take six months (Guardian)
Identifying the remains of the 157 people killed in an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash may take up to six months, the airline said in a document seen by AFP on Saturday. Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 plummeted into a field minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa bound for Nairobi last Sunday, killing all on board. The disaster led to the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, the plane that crashed. Witnesses said the plane nose-dived into remote farmland southeast of the Ethiopian capital, reducing the plane to small pieces of debris buried deep in the earth. People of 35 nationalities were killed in the crash. Read more
Cyclone Idai: Many dead in Zimbabwe and Mozambique (BBC)
A tropical storm has swept away bridges and homes in eastern Zimbabwe, killing at least 24 people, officials say. Cyclone Idai cut off power and communications in parts of Manicaland province on the border with Mozambique. Some 40 people are missing. People fled from their homes to the slopes of mountain and were waiting to be rescued, but strong winds have hampered helicopter flights. In Mozambique, where Idai made landfall on Thursday, at least 19 people died. Flooding across the rest of the country had already killed nearly 70 people before the storm’s arrival. Read more
Suspected terrorists kill 13 in northern Mozambique (Punch)
At least 13 civilians have died in fresh attacks in Mozambique’s volatile northern Cabo Delgado province where Islamists have terrorised villagers in remote communities for more than a year, local sources said on Saturday. One of the latest attacks occurred on Thursday evening on Ulo village in Mocimboa da Praia district in which more than 120 houses were destroyed, the sources said. “Two additional attacks were carried out during the early hours of (Friday), on the villages of Nabajo and Maculo, killing a total of 13 villagers,” a local resident said. Read more
Equatorial Guinea rights activist arrested as he tries to receive award (Guardian)
A leading human rights activist in Equatorial Guinea was arrested in the capital Malabo after travelling there to receive an award for his work, his NGO and a police source said Saturday. Alfredo Okenve was arrested at Malabo airport on Friday night when he was about to board a flight to Madrid after the cancellation of an awards ceremony earlier in the day. A leading figure in the country’s civil society movement, Okenve is one of the leaders of the Center for Studies and Initiatives for the Development of Equatorial Guinea (CEID-GE), which said he had been flown back home to the port city of Bata and placed under house arrest. Read more
Christchurch shootings: Brother proud of mosque victim’s ‘heroism’ (BBC)
The brother of a Pakistani man who was killed during Friday’s mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, has told the BBC of his pride and pain. Khursheed Alam said he was proud his brother, was killed alongside his son, had tried to tackle the gunman. “I wish I could die like him,” he said. Forty-nine people were killed during Friday prayers at the two mosques. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a self-described white supremacist, has been charged with one count of murder. He appeared in court on Saturday in a white prison shirt and handcuffs, smiling for the cameras. Further charges are expected to be made against him. Read more
Anonymous donor leaves envelopes of cash on doorsteps of Spanish villagers (Punch)
Residents of a tiny Spanish village have been left mystified by an anonymous donor who leaves envelopes of cash in postboxes or under people’s doors. Since Wednesday last week, around 15 people in Villarramiel, northern Spain, have received envelopes containing up to 100 euros in notes, Mayor Nuria Simon told AFP. Locals are trying to work out why a group of apparently unconnected people in a village of just over 800 residents have been singled out for the gifts. Some Spanish news reports have labelled him the “Robin Hood of Villarramiel”. Read more
Police probes model’s death after testifying against politician in sex trial (Punch)
Italy is investigating the mysterious death of a former model and witness at Silvio Berlusconi’s sex trial, with a newspaper suggesting on Saturday she may have been poisoned with a radioactive substance. Milan prosecutor Francesco Greco said an investigation had been opened following the death on March 1 of Moroccan-born Imane Fadil at one of the city’s hospitals. The 33-year-old had been brought to the hospital on January 29 with unexplained stomach pains. Read more
Julia Roberts believes Pretty Woman would not get made today (Metro)
Julia Roberts has suggested that her hit film Pretty Woman would not get made today – and that she nearly turned down Notting Hill. The 1990 film is about a prostitute who falls in love with a client, and plays upon sexual power dynamics. But the Oscar-winning actress has suggested that today’s political and cultural climate would mean that the story would not get greenlit. ‘I don’t really think you could make that movie now, right?’ she said. ‘So many things you could poke a hole in, but I don’t think it takes away from people being able to enjoy it.’ Read more
Michael Jackson’s music ‘axed from X Factor’ after Leaving Neverland accusations (Metro)
Michael Jackson’s music has reportedly been axed from The X Factor in the wake of HBO’s Leaving Neverland documentary. The talent show, headed up by Simon Cowell, has featured the king of pop’s music heavily in the past including themed episodes such as a Michael Jackson vs Queen special. However, since the documentary was aired, all looks set to change. The show will be axing the star’s hits for the upcoming series in light of the accusations, leaving Jackson’s estate without its ‘hefty royalty cheques,’ according to The Sun newspaper. Read more
Solskjaer insists United don’t fear Camp Nou test (Nation)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Manchester United are not scared of playing the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona at the Camp Nou after drawing the Catalans on Friday. United were originally drawn to play at Barcelona in the first leg, which would have given them the safety net of playing the decisive return at Old Trafford. But with Manchester City due to play their quarter-final second leg against Tottenham at home in the same week, UEFA decided to make United host Barca in the first leg on April 10, after stipulating in advance following advice from local authorities that United and City could not play at home on successive nights. Read more
Man City faces two-window transfer ban (Nation)
Manchester City will be banned from making signings in the next two transfer windows by FIFA for breaking rules related to the protection of youth players and third-party ownership, according to reports. The club is already being investigated by the Football Association and Premier League for allegations related to youth transfers and financial fair play rules, with the latter also being looked at by European football’s governing body UEFA. That investigation could result in City being banned from the Champions League. A transfer ban for the Premier League champions would come less than a month after Chelsea was also hit with the same sanction for 29 breaches of article 19 of FIFA’s regulations on the transfer and status of players. Read more
Lewis Hamilton on pole in Australia (BBC)
Lewis Hamilton pipped Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas to pole position at the season-opening Australian GP. Hamilton was behind the Finn going into the final runs in qualifying but edged ahead by 0.112 seconds to take his sixth consecutive pole at Albert Park. Hamilton was a massive 0.704secs quicker than Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in third, just ahead of new Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. British rookie Lando Norris took a superb eighth on his debut for McLaren. And George Russell, the other British rookie, was 19th, well ahead of his Williams team-mate Robert Kubica. Read more