Nigerians Mark Good Friday amid biting economy (Channels)
Christians across Nigeria have joined their counterparts globally to mark Good Friday – a prelude to the Easter celebration – amid the high cost of living and security challenges in the country.
Good Friday is a remembrance of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. In cities across the country, some churches are expected to hold services. Processions tagged the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ would also take place.
At the Saint Peter Cathedral in the diocese of Bukuru, Plateau State, worshippers joined their counterparts to observe the day. Read more
Slain Soldiers: Police hand over wanted delta monarch to military (DailyTrust)
The police in Delta State have handed over the traditional ruler of Ewu Kingdom, an Urhobo Community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, HRM Clement Ikolo Oghenerukevwe to the military authorities.
The monarch had surrendered himself on Thursday to the police after he was declared wanted by the military over the killing of 17 doldiers in Okuama Community.
The traditional ruler was declared wanted Thursday alongside the president general of Ewu, Prof Ekpekpo Arthur, the mother of one the alleged perpetrators and five others over the killing of 17 soldiers. Read more
Late MohBad’s widow, Omowunmi, cries out over alleged threats (Leadership)
Widow of the late Nigerian Afrobeats singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, known as Mohbad, has cried out over what she described as constant threats to her life and son Liam.
She called on the late musician’s father, Joseph Aloba, as a matter of urgency, to get a court order for the Deoxyribonucleic Acid Identification (DNA) test for her son Liam.
LEADERSHIP reports that the sudden death of Mohbad in September 2023 has sparked off controversies and street protests, leading to the exhumation of his corpse and coroner inquest by the Lagos State government. Read more
Easter: Police assure Lagos, Ogun residents of safe celebrations (Vanguard)
The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 2 Command, Onikan, Lagos, Mr Olatoye Durosinmi, has assured residents of Lagos State and Ogun of adequate security during the Easter celebrations.
The AIG gave the assurance in a statement signed by the Zonal Public Relations Officer (ZPRO), SP Umma Ayuba, on Friday in Lagos.
Durosinmi directed the Commissioners of Police in Lagos and Ogun, along with the Commanders of Tactical Units and all officers within the zone, to implement heightened security measures across the region. Read more
Canada-based Nigerian playwright, Oguntokun is dead (Punch)
Renowned Nigerian playwright and theatre director, Wole Oguntokun, is dead.
Oguntokun, who was also a lawyer, passed away at the age of 56 on Wednesday.
The news of his passing was shared by his friend and film director, Kayode Peters, on his Instagram page Thursday afternoon.
The post read, “I remember that year. I was just cutting my teeth as a professional theatre director. Your search for a director for your script brought you to the University of Lagos and I was your obvious choice. Read more
Easter: Makinde felicitates Christians, calls for more prayers (Independent)
Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, has felicitated the Christian faithful in the state and across Nigeria on the occasion of the Easter festivity.
The governor, who congratulated the Christians on witnessing another Easter season, called on them to use the special occasion to pray for Oyo State and Nigeria as well as the leadership.
According to the governor, it has become important to engage in more prayers and supplications for the country and the state amid current economic situations. Read more
How Zik ended Biafra war, by Nwobodo (Nation)
A former governor of old Anambra state, Senator Jim Nwobodo has narrated how former Nigerian leader, Nnamdi Azikiwe, ended the Biafran war to stop what could have been a total annihilation of the Igbo.
Nwobodo, who spoke when the management of Awka Museum Foundation, Anambra state paid him a courtesy visit in his country home, Amechi Awkunanaw, Enugu, said without Zik, there would have been no Igbo man alive.
He added that it was Zik’s meeting with the then Liberia president, William Tubman that led to the end of the war. Read more
23-year-old acquitted of rape after 2 years in jail (Punch)
Justice Abiola Soladoye of the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Thursday discharged and acquitted 23-year-old Victory Tasie, accused of raping his 19-year-old girlfriend, after spending two years in prison.
The judge discharged and acquitted Tasie when she ruled on a no-case submission filed by the defendant through his counsel, Mrs Rukayat Owolabi, dated March 19, 2024.
Justice Soladoye held that the prosecution failed to discharge the burden of proof of defilement against Tasie. Read more
Kirsten Dunst says Tobey Maguire couldn’t breathe’ during Spider-Man upside-down kiss in freezing rain (People)
Movie magic sometimes isn’t as magical behind the scenes — just ask Kirsten Dunst!
Almost 22 years after famously locking lips in the rain with Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man, Dunst, now 41, is looking back on the “kind of miserable” experience of filming the iconic upside-down scene.
In the rainy scene, Dunst’s character Mary Jane Watson pulls down the mask of an upside-down Spider-Man (Maguire, now 48) just far enough to keep his true identity under wraps, before planting a smooch on him to thank him for rescuing her from a group of thugs. Read more
Louis Gossett Jr., An Officer and a Gentleman Oscar winner, dies at 87 (Variety)
Louis Gossett Jr., who won a supporting actor Oscar for playing the hard-as-nails drill instructor in 1982’s An Officer and a Gentleman a few years after winning an Emmy for his role as the cunning Fiddler in Roots, has died, the AP reports. He was 87.
In Taylor Hackford’s An Officer and a Gentleman, Gossett’s Sgt. Emil Foley memorably drove Richard Gere’s character to the point of near collapse at a Navy flight school. Gossett was the first Black man to win the best supporting actor Oscar for that role.
In addition to An Officer and a Gentleman Gossett is best known for films Enemy Mine (1985), in which he played an alien forced to come to terms with his human enemy when he and an astronaut played by Dennis Quaid find themselves stranded on a planet, and Iron Eagle (1986), in which he played an Air Force veteran who helps a young pilot find his father, who has been shot down and captured. Read more
Israeli Supreme Court orders government to stop funding religious schools that defy enlistment, in blow to Netanyahu (CNN)
The Israeli Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the government to stop funding religious schools whose students defy the country’s mandatory military service, posing one of the most serious threats to date for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews have long held a privileged position in Israel, with their schools receiving generous government subsidies. The young men of the Haredim, as they are known in Hebrew, are in all practical terms exempt from mandatory military services – an issue that has bedeviled Israeli society since the country’s founding.
The debate has grown more fierce since Israel launched its invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7 terror attack, which has put the country on a war footing for nearly six months with the prospect of more to come. Read more
Judd Apatow claims comedy is not dead in theatres, sees a comeback in future (Deadline)
Judd Apatow has directed such comedy films as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Trainwreck, among others. Despite his recent The King of Staten Island and The Bubble going straight to streaming, he still believes comedy films have a place in theaters.
“The highest-grossing comedy last year made over a billion dollars. Barbie was a comedy,” Apatow said in an interview with Cinemablend.
Barbie is “not a drama,” Apatow said. “There are some emotional moments in it, but it’s just wall-to-wall jokes. There’s something about it where I feel like no one wants to give comedy the win there. Like, why can’t we say Barbie is a comedy? What other category would it be?” Read more
Kenan Thompson says ‘‘My heart goes out’’ to fellow Nickelodeon stars featured in ‘‘Quiet on Set’’ (Variety)
Kenan Thompson has opened up about his time as a child star at Nickelodeon and the new perspective he has gained on it following the release of Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, a new documentary series that features allegations of abuse against crew members at the network.
Thompson’s comments came Wednesday during an interview on the daytime talk show Tamron Hall, touching on his new production banner AFA, his record-breaking tenure on Saturday Night Live and his new memoir “When I Was Your Age.” Read more
Carol Burnett recalls ‘‘awful’’ experience performing before Elvis on Ed Sullivan Show (CST)
Elvis Presley is a tough act to follow — or, as Carol Burnett once learned, to precede.
The television legend, 90, stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday and chatted about one of her previous times at the Ed Sullivan Theater: when she appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show on the same episode as Presley. This was when Presley was in the army, and “they did a whole big thing” with him, she explained.
Unfortunately for Burnett, she went on before Presley, so audience members were anxious to see the singer and had no interest in her. Read more
Banksy tree mural that sprouted in London is fenced off after apparent vandalism (ABC)
It was nice while it lasted.
An environmentally themed mural by elusive street artist Banksy that appeared last week on a London street has been encased in plastic and surrounded by fencing after an apparent act of vandalism.
The work is on a four-story wall near a public housing project. Beside a real and severely pruned cherry tree, the artist stenciled a small figure holding a pressure hose. Swathes of green paint across the wall stand in for the tree’s absent leaves. Read more
Be careful, fans warn Sadiq after Finidi spat (Punch)
Fans have taken to social media platform, X, to criticise Umar Sadiq following a reported row with interim Super Eagles coach George Finidi after the Real Sociedad forward was unused in the Eagles two friendlies against Ghana and Mali during the international break.
Nigeria beat bitter rivals Ghana 2-1 last Friday and then lost 2-0 to Mali on Tuesday in Marrakech, Morocco.
Sadiq didn’t play a single minute of both games, despite the absence of three key strikers, Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface and Taiwo Awoniyi.
The disappointed striker reportedly declined a handshake from Finidi after the defeat to Mali, which irked some fans, who questioned the 27-year-old’s professionalism. Read more
South Africa coach, Hugo Broos, dares Super Eagles (ThisDay)
Ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifying clash with Nigeria on June 10, South Africa Coach, Hugo Broos, has dared Super Eagles, insisting that his team is not afraid of any African team.
The Bafana Bafana have improved since 2021, when Broos took over as head coach. The Belgian has built the team around home-based players, and they have achieved a good level of success as a result.
In the last Africa Cup of Nations, they perform well, finishing third after losing to Nigeria in the semi-final. They even beat 2022 World Cup finalists Morocco in the run-up to their bronze-medal finish. Read more
John Stones and Kyle Walker to miss Manchester City clash with Arsenal (BelfastTelegraph)
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that key defensive duo Kyle Walker and John Stones will miss Sunday’s title showdown with Arsenal.
Walker suffered a hamstring injury in the early stages of England’s friendly with Brazil last weekend, while Stones completed that game but then picked up an adductor problem 10 minutes into the draw with Belgium.
Goalkeeper Ederson could return to the side for the first time since suffering a thigh injury when conceding a penalty against Liverpool and Manuel Akanji has recovered from a knock on international duty with Switzerland, while Guardiola will make a late decision on the fitness of Kevin de Bruyne. Read more
Celtic and Rangers finally call a truce after SPFL intervene in Old Firm row (Express)
Rangers and Celtic have come to a mutual agreement to let larger numbers of away fans back into Old Firm derbies once again. Starting next season, about five per cent of the seats in their stadiums will be for visiting supporters for Scottish Premiership matches.
The two Glasgow giants had become embroiled in a row where each side regularly kept cutting down how many tickets the other team’s fans could receive for trips to Ibrox and Celtic Park.
This started when Steven Gerrard became the boss of Rangers in 2018. Before then, more than 7,000 fans from the opposing team could enjoy the atmosphere of the white-hot derbies. Read more
Red Bull design legend Adrian Newey approached by F1 rival with mega-money offer (Mirror)
Aston Martin have launched an ambitious bid to convince Adrian Newey to walk away from Red Bull.
Autosport reports the Silverstone-based squad is keen to convince the 65-year-old to embark on one final new adventure in his long and successful career. Newey has been with Red Bull since 2006 and has played a key role in designing all their title-winning cars. He signed a new deal with Red Bull only last year, amid interest from Ferrari. But now another team has decided to make a place for the F1 champions’ revered chief technical officer. Read more
Aidan O’Brien pleased with Auguste Rodin ahead of Sheema Classic (RTE)
Aidan O’Brien is fully aware of the importance of Auguste Rodin to the thoroughbred breed as he aims to add another Group One to his CV in the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic.
By the late Japanese sensation Deep Impact, Auguste Rodin showcased his talent on the world stage last year by completing the Derby double at Epsom and the Curragh before adding the Irish Champion Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Turf to his tally.
On Saturday he is attempting to win on a third continent, with the brave decision to keep him in training as a four-year-old, especially given Coolmore will eventually be looking for him to take over from Galileo at stud, not lost on his trainer. Read more