Lagos CP expresses command’s readiness for the polls (Guardian)
The Commissioner of Police in Lagos, CP Zubairu Muazu, on Thursday expressed the Command’s readiness for a hitch free elections in the state. The CP assured that all black spots in the state state were under serious check. Muazu told newsmen on Thursday that 30,000 men from the police and sister security agencies have been trained to provide security to all parts of the state before, during and after the elections. Read more
I’m APC member, though I’m Atiku’s spokesman —Galadima (Punch)
A spokesman for the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, Buba Galadima, says he is still a member of the All Progressives Congress. Galadima, who was a guest on Channels TV’s ‘The Verdict’, said he remained a member of the All Progressives Congress and was still leading a faction of the party known as the Reformed APC. He made the clarification when the anchor, Seun Okinbaloye, introduced Galadima as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. Read more
Polls: Security agents uncover six flash points in Anambra (Guardian)
Ahead of Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections, security agencies in Anambra said they had uncovered six major flash points in the state. Mr Rabiu Ladodo, Commissioner of Police in charge of security in the conduct of the general elections in Anambra, disclosed this at a news conference on Thursday in Awka. Flanked by heads of other security agencies, Ladodo named the flash points as Ogidi, Obosi, Nnewi, Onitsha, Ajali and Ihiala. Read more
Suspected thugs attack Kwankwaso’s convoy (Guardian)
Suspected hoodlums have attacked the convoy of Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso at Kofa town in Kano. Kwankwaso, who was said to be in Kofa town in Bebeji local government area of the state for last round of PDP campaign, was invaded by suspected thugs of his political opponents. A source told The Guardian that scores of Kwankwasiyya’s supporters were injured and about 40 vehicles destroyed. Read more
Gunmen abduct 12-year-old boy in Plateau (Guardian)
Unidentified Gunmen have abducted a twelve-year boy at staff quarters of the Hiegpang campus of Plateau State Polytechnic in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state. DSP Terna Tyopev, Spokesman of the Plateau Police Command, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Jos. According to Tyopev, the incident, which occurred Wednesday night, had thrown residents of the community into serious confusion. Read more
Venezuela to close border with Brazil (BBC)
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has announced he is closing the border with Brazil on Thursday night as a row over foreign humanitarian aid continues. The embattled leftist leader went on TV to say that he was also considering shutting the border with Colombia to stop the opposition bringing in relief. He denies any crisis and calls the aid delivery plans a US-orchestrated show. Opposition leader Juan Guaidó is leading a convoy to the Colombian border from the capital Caracas. Read more
Rio police suspected of using snipers in favela (Guardian)
Rio de Janeiro’s favelas are known for high crime. But in one of the city’s poor neighborhoods, rights groups say residents face a new threat: police snipers. According to an investigation by human rights organizations, at least five people were shot dead between October and January from a police tower in the northern Manguinhos favela. That has set off alarm bells, as experts fear rising police brutality, fueled by President Jair Bolsonaro’s “zero tolerance” on crime — rhetoric that is echoed by Rio governor Wilson Witzel. Read more
Arsenal ease into Europa League last 16 (BBC)
Arsenal booked their place in the last 16 of the Europa League with a comfortable second-leg victory over Bate Borisov at Emirates Stadium. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, they scored inside four minutes when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s cross was turned in by Bate defender Zakhar Volkov. Centre-back Shkodran Mustafi made it 2-0 before the break with a powerful header from Granit Xhaka’s corner. Substitute Sokratis Papastathopoulos headed in the third goal after an hour. Read more
Premier League 2019/20 season to start on August 10 (Punch)
The 2019/20 English Premier League season will begin on Saturday, August 10, officials announced Thursday, with the transfer window closing two days earlier. The transfer window will shut at 5:00 pm local time (1600 GMT) on Thursday, August 8 — the second successive year where the summer window will close before a new season starts. It was back in September 2017 that Premier League clubs agreed to a rule amendment that would see the summer window shut on Thursday before the season started. Read more