Others were accepted but I was rejected thrice at ritualists’ den – Rivers’ abducted nurse (Punch)
An 18-year-old auxiliary nurse, Rachael David, has relived her close shave with death at a suspected ritual killers’ den in Rivers State after she was kidnapped at Okuru Junction, Port Harcourt.
David, who is currently receiving treatment in a hospital, regained her freedom around 5pm on Friday.
Sunday PUNCH learnt that the teenager had gone to buy something at the junction around 7am on Thursday and was returning home when a motorist signalled to her, asking for direction to Bitter Leave Junction.
She told our correspondent on Saturday that as she was describing the place to the driver, she was hypnotised and lost her senses until she arrived at an unknown destination. Read more
Lawmaker decries deplorable state of Lagos-Badagry Expressway (Guardian)
A lawmaker in Lagos State, Mr Setonji David (Badagry Constituency II), on Sunday decried the deplorable state of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway in the last six years.
The second-term member of the state’s House of Assembly told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the deplorable state of the highway had continued to affect residents, businesses and tourists negatively.
The lawmaker, also Chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategy and Security said constituents had not ceased calling on the federal and state governments to end their sufferings and nightmares on the road. Read more
Widow of man killed during Lagos #EndSARS protest gets N10m (Punch)
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing cases of police brutality on Saturday awarded N10m to the widow of one Rasheed Kareem, who was shot dead by the police in Surulere during the #EndSARS protest in October last year.
The retired Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel awarded the sum to the widow while ruling on a petition submitted before it by the brother of the deceased, Olalekan Bankole.
Bankole had, during his appearance before the panel in February, narrated how his brother was shot dead by policemen from Area C Command in Surulere on October 21, 2020 amid the #EndSARS protest.
Apart from awarding N10m as compensation to the widow of the deceased, the Chairman of the panel, Justice Okuwobi, directed the police to fish out the policeman responsible for the shooting and prosecute them accordingly. Read more
Ekiti Government to embark on Rice pyramid project, targets one million tonnes (Guardian)
The Ekiti State Government on Sunday said it intends to produce of over one million metrics tonnes of rice within the next couple of years.
Mr Olabode Adetoyi, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, made this known in Ado Ekiti at a news conference ahead of the official launch of the ” Ekiti Rice Pyramid Project” and flag off of the 2021 Wet Season Rice Cultivation, scheduled for Tuesday.
According to him, Mr Godwin Emefiele, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, would perform the inauguration of the rice pyramid project while Gov. Kayode Fayemi, would be the chief host. Read more
NUT suspends strike, as union, Niger reach agreement (ThisDay)
The Niger State Government and the state wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) at the weekend reached a six-point agreement leading to the immediate suspension of the 10-day-old strike declared by the union.
The state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, personally presided over the first meeting between the government and the union officials on May 10th before directing three of his commissioners and the Head of Service to sign the agreement also in the presence of the Permanent Secretary, Establishment Matters the next day.
The high point of the agreement was the decision by government “to domesticate the 65 years of age or 40 years in service” whichever comes first for teachers in accordance with extant laws based on specific criteria”. Read more
Policeman gets N100,000 reward for returning accident victim’s N1.2m (Punch)
A police Sergeant, Mr Kabiru Isah, has been rewarded with a sum of N100,000 for his honesty after returning N1.2m found on a deceased accident victim to his relatives in Kano State.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abdullahi Haruna, said this in a statement on Saturday.
Haruna said the policeman attached to the command’s Motor Traffic Division recovered the money while inspecting an accident scene on the Kano-Zaria Road.
He said an articulated vehicle had knocked down a motorcycle rider, who died on the spot, adding that the victim was in possession of the money packed in a box. Read more
Osinbajo offers scholarship to gifted physically challenged artist (Guardian)
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has offered a gifted physically challenged artist, Ms Abosede Okeowo, a US online scholarship to enhance her skills.
Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said the presentation was made recently at the palace of Oba Adekunle Adeagbo, the Oore of Otun-Ekiti in Ekiti.
The 27-year-old artist had presented to Osinbajo a pencil portrait of himself during his courtesy visit to the Ooni of Ife in 2020. Read more
Suspected Herdsmen Kill Catechist, Two Others in Nasarawa Village (ThisDay)
Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen in the early hours of Saturday killed Mr. Sydney Shirsha, the Catechist of St. Mathew’s Catholic Parish, Obi in Nasarawa State.
Catechist Shirsha was murdered in his Amudu village in Giza chiefdom of Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State alongside two other members of the village.
An eyewitness said the suspected herdsmen, armed with sophisticated weapons, invaded Amudu, a Tiv village in Giza Development Area of the state, killing the catechist and two others in a midnight attack.
It was gathered that the attack left several others with various degrees of injuries, just as the incident has led to the displacement of over 20,000 Tiv farmers from villages within and outside the local government area. Read more
‘World first’ as Cambridge vet saves tiger’s eye (BBC)
A tiger’s eye has been saved in what is believed to be the first ever operation of its type in the world on a big cat.
Ratna, a 17-year-old Sumatran tiger, lives at Shepreth Wildlife Park near Cambridge.
Staff noticed her left eye – which had previously had a cataract removed – was deteriorating and a corneal ulcer was diagnosed by a specialist eye vet.
Corneal surgery, which is not uncommon on domestic cats and dogs, required “a lot more anaesthetic” on Ratna. Read more
Prince Andrew loses nearly 50 patronages after Epstein scandal: report (PageSix)
Thanks, but no thanks.
Dozens of charitable causes have cut ties with Prince Andrew in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, according to a report.
Nearly 50 “patronages,” or causes supported by different members of the royal family, told The Telegraph they had ended their relationship with the embattled Andrew, who stepped back from public life more than a year ago in the wake of the Epstein affair.
Most of the 150 groups reached by the outlet declined comment, while some explained they felt it “no longer appropriate” to stick with Andrew, according to The Sun. Read more
UN chief, opening Mideast session, warns of ‘uncontainable’ crisis (France24)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday pleaded for an immediate end to deadly Israeli-Palestinian violence, warning a Security Council meeting that the fighting could plunge the region into an “uncontainable” crisis.
“Fighting must stop. It must stop immediately,” Guterres said as he opened a Security Council session delayed by Israel’s ally the United States, calling the violence that has killed nearly 200 people over the past week “utterly appalling.”
“It has the potential to unleash an uncontainable security and humanitarian crisis and to further foster extremism, not only in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel, but in the region as a whole,” he said. Read more
Israel Gaza conflict: Air strike targets Hamas leader (BBC)
The Israeli military says it has bombed the home of the political leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in a wave of air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
It released video of an exploding bomb which it said had hit the home of Yahya Sinwar, the group’s overall leader in the territory.
Israeli air strikes in Gaza killed at least 26 people early on Sunday, officials there said.
Militants fired more rockets at Israel, sending people fleeing for shelter. Read more
Brazil struggles with Covid-19 vaccine rollout as death toll spirals (France24)
Four months into a Covid-19 vaccination campaign marred by shortages and delays, hard-hit Brazil is still struggling to find enough doses, as political and diplomatic blunders prolong its pandemic nightmare.
Around 33 million people – 15 percent of the population – have received at least one vaccine dose in Brazil, a proportion still too small to have a substantial impact on the virus’ spread.
Targeted by a Senate inquiry over its handling of the pandemic, President Jair Bolsonaro’s government is facing criticism for failing to secure more vaccines, including its refusal of offers to purchase millions of doses and diplomatic tension with China that may be slowing the import of vaccine ingredients.
“We don’t have enough doses right now to vaccinate as fast as we should,” said Margareth Dalcolmo, a pulmonologist and researcher at leading public health institute Fiocruz. Read more
Covid-19: UK govt defends India travel ban timing amid variant fears (BBC)
No 10 has defended its decision not to ban travel from India sooner, amid concern that the coronavirus variant first discovered there is now spreading quickly in parts of the UK.
India was reporting more than 100,000 cases a day by 5 April, but was not added to the red list until 23 April.
The government said the UK has “some of the toughest border measures”.
It comes after the British Medical Association raised concerns about Monday’s relaxation of Covid rules. Read more
Myanmar military take rebel town of Mindat, Chinland (BBC)
Myanmar’s military has entered a small town in western Chin state which took up arms against them three weeks ago.
Activists from the volunteer Chinland Defence Force say they have retreated from Mindat to spare the town further bombardment.
Mindat is one of several towns where opponents of the military have armed themselves.
Nearly 800 people have died in mainly unarmed protests at February’s coup which ousted the elected government. Read more
Napoli beat Fiorentina to keep Champions League ambitions alive (Punch)
Napoli moved third in Serie A on Sunday with a 2-0 win at Fiorentina to keep their push for a Champions League return alive.
Lorenzo Insigne missed a penalty but send in the rebound after 56 minutes with a Lorenzo Venti own goal 11 minutes later sealing an important win for the visitors.
Napoli are third, two points behind Atalanta who assured a third consecutive season of Champions League football, with a 4-3 win at Genoa on Saturday.
AC Milan, are a point behind Napoli, occupying in the final Champions League berth, and play 16th-placed Cagliari later on Sunday. Read more
UFC 262: Charles Oliveira beats Michael Chandler to win lightweight title (BBC)
Charles Oliveira claimed the undisputed UFC lightweight title with a thrilling second-round TKO of three-time Bellator champion Michael Chandler.
Brazilian Oliveira extended his winning streak to nine on a dramatic night in Houston, Texas.
The bout formed the main event of UFC 262 at the Toyota Center, where the capacity crowd of 16,000 fans saw Oliveira, 31, produce a thrilling come-from-behind performance to capture the title vacated this year by the retiring Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Before the bout got under way, there was a moment of respect between the pair as Oliveira approached Chandler’s corner and embraced his rival before greeting each of Chandler’s cornermen. Read more
Kane strikes as Spurs continue Champions League quest (France24)
Harry Kane scored his 22nd Premier League goal of the season as Tottenham Hotspur beat Wolves 2-0 on Sunday to maintain their hopes of a top-four finish.
England captain Kane fired Spurs ahead on the stroke of half-time before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg doubled their lead in the 62nd minute.
Victory left Spurs in sixth place, five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, with a maximum of six points available to them from their final two league games.
The top four in the Premier League are assured of a place in the 2021/22 Champions League. Read more
Kobe Bryant inducted posthumously into Basketball Hall of Fame (Guardian)
Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant was inducted posthumously into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday part of a star-studded group that also included Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.
Bryant was inducted as part of the Class of 2020, almost 16 months after he and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were killed in a helicopter crash along with seven others in southern California.
Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, took the podium Saturday to speak movingly about his love for basketball, his family, his teammates and his fans. Read more
‘It was like I blanked out’ – Mitchell grabs late winner for Palace (BBC)
In an engrossing encounter that belied its ‘dead rubber’ status, both sides contributed energetic displays full of attacking intent, with Mitchell’s late goal rewarding Palace for a superb second-half showing.
The 21-year-old full-back was in the perfect spot with six minutes left to bundle the ball in with his shoulder following Eberechi Eze’s fluffed cross.
“I couldn’t tell you what I was thinking in that moment but as soon as it went in, it was just joy,” said Mitchell, for whom Sunday’s game was his 23rd for Palace. “It was like I blanked out.
“It is definitely a dream come true for me and my whole family. It’s been a big season for me personally. Every day was hard but all the work has paid off.” Read more
Miller masters the rain to douse French hopes at Le Mans (France24)
Australian rider Jack Miller made it back to back wins on his Ducati with a dramatic victory in a windy, rain-strewn French MotoGP at Le Mans on Sunday.
Miller, who won the last race in Spain, finished ahead of French pair Johann Zarco, riding for Ducati’s satellite Pramac team, and Fabio Quartararo, on a Yamaha, who takes over the lead in the championship.
Quartararo, who has won two races this season and started on pole here, has 80 points, one more than Miller’s teammate Francesco Bagnaia who finished fourth.It was a major bonus for the Frenchman, coming just 12 days after undergoing ‘arm pump’ surgery following problems with his right forearm, which saw him slip to a 13th place finish last time out at Jerez. Read more