Police harass The Guardian reporter in Lagos (Guardian)
About 15 thugs attacked The Guardian reporter on Saturday while discharging his duty at a collation centre situated at the Community Primary School in Idimu area of Lagos. When the reporter visited the centre to check the movement of election materials at about 8:15 am, some of the INEC ad-hoc staff were seen barricading the school entrance. While the reporter took pictures and video of protesting corp members, who were owed allowances, he was attacked by thugs that claimed to be agents of political parties. They demanded that The Guardian reporter deletes the videos and pictures. Read more
Oshiomhole concern over disruption of polls in Edo (Nation)
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Adams Oshiomhole has expressed concern over alleged invasion of some polling units by suspected thugs in Edo. The polling units, according to him are at Uluoke and Ogbido both in Etsako West Local Government Area of the state. Oshiomhole disclosed this shorty after casting his vote at about 2:20pm in his polling Unit 1, Ward 10 in Iyamoh in Etsako West Local Government Area on Saturday. He alledged that leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) brought thugs to distrupt the voting process in the area, adding that security officers had to restore normalcy before voting could continue. Read more
Sanwo-Olu wins Lateef Jakande/Femi Okunu polling 019 (Guardian)
The APC gubernatorial candidate in Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has won his Lateef Jakande/Femi Okunu polling unit 019. He got a total vote of 124, defeating his closest rival, Jimi Agbaje of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 26 votes. Also, APC state House of Assembly candidate, Ishau Gbolahan, defeated his PDP counterpart with 114 votes against PDP’s 30. However, the polling unit experienced poor voters’ turnout with only 159 accredited voters out of the 1098 registered voters. Read more
INEC confirms electoral materials hijack in 4 C/River councils (Nation)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Cross River has confirmed the hijack of electoral materials in four local government areas of the state. The local government areas are: Abi, Bakassi, Obubra and Etung. The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Frankland Briyai, confirmed the development shortly after monitoring the voting process at some polling units in Calabar Municipality and Calabar South. He said that report of hijack at Yakurr Local Government Area of the state was yet to be confirmed, noting that the commission would record zero scores in all areas where materials were hijacked. Read more
Tinubu delivers polling unit to APC (Guardian)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has won both the gubernatorial and state house of assembly seat in the Falomo Police Barracks 4, polling unit 034, where Remi Tinubu voted earlier in the day. APC gov candidate polled 79, while PDP got 12 votes. For the state House of Assembly, APC got 71 while PDP polled nine votes. While 840 voters registered in the unit, only 97 were accredited and 96 could cast their votes. Read more
Osinbajo delivers polling unit for APC (Nation)
The governorship candidate of the ruling All Progressives Conhress (APC) in Lagos state, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, has been declared winner in polling unit 033 in VGC where Vice President Yemi Osinbajo voted today. The APC candidate polled 223 votes to defeat his main challenger, Jimi Agbaje, of the Peoples Democratic Party, who got 176 votes. Also in the state house of assembly votes, APC (193 votes) defeated the PDP (155 votes). Read more
Hoodlums attack Lagos APC lawmaker (Guardian)
Suspected hoodlums on Saturday attacked the vehicle of Desmond Elliot, a Lagos State House of Assembly candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The incident occurred at about 3:00 p.m. at Akerele junction in the Surulere part of the Lagos, where Elliot currently represents in the assembly. Street boys wanted the famous actor to stop and give them money. But the lawmaker decided to keep going. His vehicle was attacked and the windshield broken. Supporters of Elliot at a nearby polling unit, PU20, Ward 7, Surulere, quickly called in reinforcement to rescue the lawmaker. Read more
El-Rufai wins polling unit (Nation)
Kaduna State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate, Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has won his polling unit 024, Ungwar Sarki ward, Kaduna. El-Rufai on Saturday garnered 367 votes at his polling unit, while his major contender, Hon. Isa Ashiru of the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) polled 59 votes. Read more
Man shot dead in home of APC governorship candidate (Guardian)
An unidentified man has been shot at the home of the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Enugu State Ayogu Eze. He was shot in Eze’s home at Umuonu-Umuida, Enugu-Ezike area of Enugu State. Circumstances surrounding the shooting is still unclear. The victim is part of a group of observers monitoring the election. Read more
Attack on DR Congo Ebola centre leaves one dead (Guardian)
Armed men attacked an Ebola treatment centre in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo again on Saturday, killing a policeman and wounding a health worker, the authorities said. The facility, located at Butembo in the troubled province of North Kivu, only reopened last Saturday after an attack by gunmen the previous Wednesday forced its closure. “Shooting started at about six in the morning (0400 GMT) and resumed 30 minutes later with resistance from the army and the police,” Butembo mayor Timothée Muissa Kiesse told AFP. Read more
Algeria sends students home early amid Bouteflika protests (BBC)
Algeria’s education ministry has ordered an early start to university holidays amid huge protests against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Originally scheduled to run from 21 March to 5 April, the spring break now starts on 10 March and ends on 4 April. The ministry gave no reason for the move. Students have been heavily involved in mass protests against the ailing leader, which began last month after he announced he would seek a fifth term. Mr Bouteflika, 82, who is currently in hospital in Switzerland, has ruled Algeria for 20 years but has rarely been seen in public since he had a stroke in 2013. Read more
Venezuela braces for rival protests amid power cuts (BBC)
Rival demonstrations are taking place in Venezuela in response to calls by opposition leader Juan Guaidó and President Nicolás Maduro. In the capital Caracas, some supporters of Mr Guaidó clashed with police and were dispersed with pepper spray. Mr Guaidó declared himself interim president on 23 January and has been at loggerheads with Mr Maduro ever since. Saturday’s protests follow widespread power cuts that have affected much of Venezuela since Thursday. Mr Guaidó, who leads the opposition-controlled National Assembly, has been recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries. However, Mr Maduro retains the support of the military and close allies including Russia and China. Read more
Mobster Carmine Persico dies after serving 33 of 139-year sentence (BBC)
The former boss of a major New York crime gang has died, after serving 33 years of a 139-year prison sentence. Carmine Persico’s lawyer said he died of complications arising from diabetes. He leaves a wife, two children and 15 grandchildren. The 85-year-old was known as The Snake, a nickname he reportedly hated. He is thought to have continued running his criminal organisation from behind bars, making his one of the longest-running mob leaderships in history. Persico was born in Brooklyn in 1933, the son of a law firm stenographer. Before his teens were over, he had been arrested for murder. Read more
Tom Ballard: Bodies found in missing climbers search (BBC)
The bodies of two climbers who went missing on a mountain in Pakistan have been found. Briton Tom Ballard and Italian Daniele Nardi last made contact from Nanga Parbat at an altitude of about 20,700ft (6,300m) almost two weeks ago. On Wednesday it was reported the search had been called off, but resumed when “silhouettes” were spotted on a passage taken by the climbers. Officials have now confirmed the two “shapes” are the missing men. Stefano Pontecorvo, the Italian ambassador to Pakistan, said Spanish climber Alex Txikon found the bodies on the Mummery Spur trail. Read more
Bayern top for first time since September (BBC)
Bayern Munich went top of the Bundesliga for the first time since September by thrashing Wolfsburg. Borussia Dortmund, who were nine points clear at the top in December, beat Stuttgart 3-1 but have now slipped behind Bayern on goal difference. Serge Gnabry and Robert Lewandowski put the hosts 2-0 up with close-range finishes before James Rodriguez added a third from the edge of the box. Thomas Muller, Joshua Kimmich and Lewandowski’s second sealed the rout. Poland forward Lewandowski is now the top-scoring foreign player in Bundesliga history, with 197 goals. Former Bayern striker Claudio Pizarro, who is still playing in the German top flight with Werder Bremen at the age of 40, was the previous record-holder with 195. Read more
Alan Shearer slams terrible decision as Jordan Pickford escapes red card against Newcastle (Metro)
Alan Shearer described Lee Mason’s decision to refrain from sending off Jordan Pickford for his rugby tackle on Salomon Rondon as ‘terrible’. Newcastle were trailing to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s 18th minute header when the England goalkeeper appeared to have handed the hosts a route back into the match. There appeared little danger when Pickford advanced to the edge of his six-yard box to collect an aimless cross under no pressure whatsoever. Read more