Maiduguri bomb blast death toll now five, 45 injured —SEMA (Punch)
The Borno State Emergency Management Agency on Sunday said five persons were killed and 30 others injured in a suicide bomb attack in the outskirts of Maiduguri. The Head of Emergency Response Operations of SEMA, Mr. Kachalla Usman, confirmed the incident in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Maiduguri. Usman said that two female suicide bombers detonated Improvised Explosives Device vests strapped to their bodies in a crowded place at Muna-Dalti area of Maiduguri on Saturday night. He said that three persons and two suicide bombers were killed, while 45 others sustained injuries in the blast. Read more
Military destroys major militant camps in Niger Delta (Guardian)
The Joint Military Task Force (JTF) code-named “Operation Delta Safe” says it has destroyed and dislodged major militant camps in the Niger Delta, thereby boosting security in the region. Rear Admiral Apochi Suleiman, the outgoing JTF Commander, said this on Sunday in Yenagoa, at the handing over ceremony of the mantle of leadership to the new Commander, Rear Admiral Akingide Akinrinade. Suleiman added that the crude oil production index of the country had also increased remarkably since 2016 when he assumed office as commander. Read more
PDP faults Tinubu for seeking reviews of power privatization (Punch)
The Peoples Democratic Party, on Saturday, faulted the call by the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for the Federal Government to revisit the privatisation of the power sector. At the 11th Bola Tinubu Colloquium in Abuja last week, the former Lagos State governor urged the FG to revisit the privatisation of the sector, saying the country could not afford to be too legalistic about it. Tinubu had said, “The PDP administration shared our generation, distribution and transmission to their friends and cronies without very deep and thoughtful research and evaluation. It has now become pork chops. Read more
Oyo APC will bounce back in 2023, Ajimobi’s wife vows (Nation)
Wife of the Oyo State governor, Dr Florence Ajimobi has assured the people of the State that the All Progressive Congress (APC), will bounce back and come back to power in 2023. This is as she also solicited for support and prayers of the people of the state, especially women for the incoming People’s Democratic Party (PDP) government, saying God had destined the Governor-Elect, Mr Seyi Makinde to take over from her husband. The Oyo First lady made the remarks while giving what could be described as her valedictory speech at the April edition of the quarterly prayer rally organized by the Women Intercessory Network, which held at the Remembrance Arcade, Opposite Government House, Agodi, Ibadan at the weekend. Read more
UI probes death of ex-lecturer in house inferno (Punch)
The authorities of the University of Ibadan, on Saturday, said the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, had set up a panel to unravel the circumstances leading to the death of its former employee, Mr A. O. Subair. Subair, a lecturer II in the Department of Mathematics of the university, reportedly set his residence ablaze in the senior staff quarters on Phillipson Road, leading to his death. The deceased hailed from Kaduna State. His remains were buried at Akinyele public cemetery. The late university lecturer had recently resigned from the institution, allegedly without a justifiable reason but was yet to vacate his staff quarters before his death. Read more
AGF raises the alarm over untreated audit reports by NASS (Nation)
The Auditor General for the Federation (AGF), Anthony Ayine, has asked members of the National Assembly to take steps to clear mounting backlogs of audit reports submitted to them. Ayine said that there was no doubt that corruption has stifled economic growth and development in the country. The AGF stated this in a paper “The role of National Assembly in promoting public accountability” which he presented at the ongoing orientation programme for Senators-elect/members-elect of the 9th National Assembly, in Abuja. Ayine noted that to the best of his knowledge, there is no Auditor-General’s report that has been fully considered by the National Assembly since 1999. Read more
Hoodlums invade OAU, poison dam over land dispute (Punch)
The land dispute between the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife in Osun State and some indigenes of the ancient town has assumed a new dimension as some of the aggrieved persons, claiming ownership of some portions of the university land, invaded the university on Wednesday and reportedly poisoned the university dam. Sources in the university told our correspondent on Friday that some indigenes, who claimed their land was taken for the university when it was established in 1962, had been selling some portions of the land. The sources said the aggrieved indigenes were challenged by the university and stopped from further trespassing. Read more
Many parties are now business enterprises – Momoh (Vanguard)
Former Minister of Information, Chief Tony Momoh has advocated a reduction in the number of political parties, saying the system has become too porous that businessmen looking to make easy cash now easily resort to establishing political parties. Momoh, a former National Chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change CPC who is now a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC recalled how Nigeria missed the opportunity to have a well regulated political space, and lamented that the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP are partly to blame for the increasing number of parties. Read more
Fear of kidnappers forces VIPs, military officers on Kaduna trains (Punch)
Prominent Nigerians, including senators, serving senior military officers and other politicians have been forced to take trains to Kaduna for fear of being abducted by the notorious kidnappers operating along the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway. Findings by SUNDAY PUNCH indicated that dignitaries, who hitherto snubbed the train service, had now resorted to patronising it following the rising cases of kidnapping on the Kaduna route. The spate of insecurity on the road prompted the acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to inaugurate ‘Operation Puff Adder’ on Friday to address the challenge which was becoming embarrassing to the government. Read more
Nigerians lose millions of dollars to cryptocurrency firm (Punch)
A cryptocurrency firm, Paxful Incorporated, has been accused of defrauding thousands of Nigerians of millions of dollars earned from online trade in digital currencies. The Estonia-based company allegedly suspended the accounts of its Nigerian subscribers, thereby denying them access to millions of dollars in their online wallets. A Non-Governmental Organisation, United Global Resolve for Peace, which made the allegations in a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, explained that many accounts had been deactivated and the monies therein trapped. Read more
Rwanda genocide: Nation marks 25 years since mass slaughter (BBC)
Commemorations have begun in Rwanda to mark the 25th anniversary of the genocide that killed about a tenth of the population. The country will mourn for 100 days, the time it took in 1994 for 800,000 Rwandans to be massacred. Most were minority Tutsis, killed by ethnic Hutu extremists. President Paul Kagame, who led the rebel force that ended the genocide, lit a remembrance flame at the memorial in the capital, Kigali. Read more
US pulls some troops out of Libya amid unrest (Guardian)
The US military said Sunday it had temporarily pulled some of its forces out of Libya amid an upsurge of fighting in the North African country. “Due to increased unrest in Libya, a contingent of US forces supporting US Africa Command temporarily relocated from the country in response to security conditions on the ground,” it said in a statement. It did not detail how many military personnel had been withdrawn from Libya. Forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar were pressing on at the weekend with an offensive on the capital Tripoli, seat of the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). Read more
Brexit: I had no choice but to approach Labour – May (BBC)
Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted she had to reach out to Labour in a bid to deliver Brexit or risk letting it “slip through our fingers”. The PM said there was a “stark choice” of either leaving the European Union with a deal or not leaving at all. And shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey says if no-deal became an option Labour would consider “very, very strongly” voting to cancel Brexit. Some Tories have criticised the PM for seeking Labour’s help on her deal. Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said the Tories were working with Labour “through gritted teeth”, adding that no deal would be better than cancelling Brexit. Read more
No breakthrough expected in EU-China summit (Guardian)
Top EU leaders meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang this week at a summit in Brussels, but their hopes of winning solid commitments on trade look set for disappointment. Brussels is trying to beef up its approach to the Asian giant as it shows little willingness to listen to longstanding complaints about industrial subsidies and access to its markets, and as fears grow about growing Chinese involvement in European infrastructure. But the half-day summit on Tuesday is on course to fizzle out with little to show in terms of agreements, with European sources saying it looks highly unlikely a final joint statement will be agreed. Read more
Iran flooding kills 70 after record rainfalls CNN)
Seventy people have died in flooding in Iran after record rainfalls began saturating parts of the country last month, state-run media reported. Deaths have been recorded across 13 provinces, with the highest casualties in Fars, Lorestan, Golestan and Hamedan, state-run IRNA quotes the head of Iran’s Coroner’s Office, Ahmad Shojaei, as saying. The semi-official Mehr News agency says record rainfalls since March 19 have so far flooded some 1,900 cities and villages across Iran, causing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to water and agriculture infrastructures. Read more
Romania cocaine: Drugs wash ashore along Black Sea coastline (BBC)
Police in Romania are searching along the country’s Black Sea coast after 130kg (286lb) of cocaine was found washed ashore. Around 300 officers and 14 coastguard ships are patrolling the coastline after packets of narcotics were found in several locations since Friday. Police have urged members of the public to not open the parcels. Romania is said to be part of a drugs transit route connecting Latin America and Europe. The packets are thought to be part of a shipment of an estimated tonne of cocaine that was found in an abandoned ship just over two weeks ago. Read more
Man banned from ever returning to UK after sexually attacking boy, 14, in toilet (Metro)
A pervert who was already on the sexual offenders list lurked in a public toilet before attacking a teenage boy. Aylin Hadarov, 33, of Beverley, was ‘fuelled with cocaine’ when he approached a 14-year-old boy and sexually assaulted him in the town’s train station toilets. He said to the terrified youngster: ‘Let me suck your dick’ twice before pulling on the boy’s belt and stroking his left thigh. The boy then shouted ‘what the fuck, no’ in a loud voice with the hope of being heard, only for Hadarov to make a shushing gesture towards him. Read more
Prince William spent three weeks with spies from Britain’s intelligence agencies (CNN)
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, has completed a three-week attachment with the UK’s Security and Intelligence Agencies, observing firsthand the country’s fight against terrorism. The Duke spent time at MI6, GCHQ and the Security Service, observing intelligence and counter-terrorism operations at the three agencies. He was keen to observe the work of the groups and “held his own” among high-skilled analysts and operators, GCHQ’s head of counter-terrorism operations. The UK’s terror level threat for international terrorism has been set as “severe” or above for the last five years. Read more
South Africa: Poacher killed by elephant then eaten by lions (BBC)
A suspected rhino poacher has been trampled on by an elephant then eaten by a pride of lions in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Accomplice poachers told the victim’s family that he had been killed by an elephant on Tuesday. Relatives notified the park ranger. A search party struggled to find the body but eventually found a human skull and a pair of trousers on Thursday. The managing executive of the park extended his condolences to the family. “Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise,” he said. “It holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that.” Read more
R Kelly pleads with media to ‘take it easy’ on him at club appearance (Metro)
R Kelly has pleaded with the media to ‘take it easy’ on him as he made a club appearance this weekend. The 52-year-old arrived in Springfield, Illinois on Saturday afternoon ahead of his scheduled appearance at the Dirty South Lounge later that evening. In a rare Instagram video, R Kelly addressed his followers saying: ‘This your boy Kells, I got an event to do tonight in Springfield, Illinois so I want the media to take it easy on me, man. This is how I got to paid right now. ‘So I got to go do this event, it’s a party. So when you see me in the club with a couple of drinks in my hand and chilling, please, take it easy. Appreciate it y’all, thanks.’ Read more
Bret Hart: Wrestling legend attacked in ring during speech (BBC)
Professional wrestler Bret Hart was attacked by a man while delivering a speech at a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) event in New York. Video footage showed the attacker charging into the ring, grabbing Mr Hart and then punching him. The suspect, identified by police as Zachary Mason, 26, faces charges of assault and trespassing. Mr Hart, 61, better known by his wrestling name “Hitman”, has had a career spanning five decades. Fellow wrestling stars Shane McMahon, Xavier Woods, Tyson Kidd, and Curtis Axel were among those who rushed to Mr Hart’s aid. Read more
City’s Mendy vows to stay out of trouble (Guardian)
Benjamin Mendy has promised to stick to the rules at Manchester City as the French star returned to action following a turbulent season. Mendy’s first season with City was ended by a cruciate ligament injury and, having helped France win the World Cup, he has once again struggled with fitness and on-field issues this term. On Saturday, the 24-year-old left-back made his first start since undergoing meniscus surgery in November, helping City reach the FA Cup final with a 1-0 win over Brighton at Wembley. Read more
Man City will struggle to reach quadruple target, says De Bruyne (Punch)
Kevin De Bruyne admits the strain of chasing the quadruple means Manchester City are almost certain to fail in their historic bid. Pep Guardiola’s side edged closer to an unprecedented clean sweep of all four major trophies as they beat Brighton 1-0 in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. Having already won the League Cup, City is through to their second domestic final of the season. They are also embroiled in the Premier League title race, trailing leaders Liverpool by two points with a game in hand. Read more
Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho appears to rule out Manchester United and Chelsea transfer (Metro)
Philippe Coutinho has seemingly ruled out the possibility of leaving Barcelona this summer, with a number of clubs interested in bringing him back to the Premier League. Brazil international Coutinho developed into one of the Premier League’s most exciting and influential players after being signed by Liverpool in 2013. Spending five years at Anfield, Coutinho scored over 54 goals in 204 league appearances for the Reds before Barcelona paid an initial £105m to bring him to the Nou Camp. Read more
‘We still want to win the league’ – Dortmund CEO (Guardian)
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has said that his team are still hoping to win the Bundesliga title after their 5-0 humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich on Saturday. Bayern reclaimed top spot with their emphatic victory on Saturday, but they remain only a point ahead of Dortmund with six games to go. “Of course we want to win the league,” said Watzke during a Sky Sports chat show appearance with his Bayern counterpart Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Read more
No job guarantee for Kovac, says Bayern boss Rummenigge (Guardian)
Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has warned coach Niko Kovac that he is not safe from the sack, despite Bayern’s breathtaking 5-0 victory over title rivals Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. “Nobody has a job guarantee at Bayern, that is a guiding principle at the club,” said Rummenigge in a Sky Sports chat show on Sunday morning. “Anyone who can’t deal with that pressure is at the wrong club.” The pressure on Kovac appeared to evaporate as Bayern regained their perch at the top of the Bundesliga with Saturday’s thumping win over Dortmund. Read more
Fiji beats France to win record fifth straight Hong Kong Rugby Sevens crown (CNN)
There is just no stopping Fiji at the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens. Fiji won for a record fifth straight time by defeating an in-form France 21-7 at the Hong Kong stadium Sunday, a result that also sent the winners’ past New Zealand and into second place in the World Rugby Sevens Series standings. Fiji coach Gareth Baber called it a “fantastic feeling” while also dedicating the trophy to the victims of the Christchurch mosque attacks last month that left at least 50 people dead and injured at least 50 others. Read more
Arie Irawan: Malaysian golfer dies aged 28 in China (BBC)
Malaysian golfer Arie Irawan has died aged 28 in his hotel room during the Sanya Championship on the Chinese resort island of Hainan. A PGA Tour statement said Irawan’s death was because of “apparent natural causes” but a coroner’s report had not been completed. Irawan, who turned professional in 2013, had missed the cut at the PGA Tour China Series tournament. Organisers cancelled the final round out of respect for Irawan’s family. Irawan, who was ranked 1,366th in the world, won two events on the Asian Development Tour in 2015. Read more