Police team arrested over killing of youth in Lagos (Guardian)
A police team under the Lagos State Police Command had been arrested over the alleged killing of a youth, Kolade Johnson on Sunday. The command’s spokesman, DSP Bala Elkana, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Monday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) had reported on Sunday that some residents of Mangoro/Onipetesi community in Lagos went on a rampage blocking the Oshodi/Abeokuta expressway in protest against the killing of a youth in the area. Read more
My fear is APC may have a serious setback in 2023 – Okorocha (Punch)
Imo State Governor, Mr Rochas Okorocha, warned on Monday that the ruling All Progressives Congress could lose its bearing completely by 2023 if the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, was allowed to continue to run its affairs. Okorocha claimed that Oshiomhole was also to blame for the party’s failure to capture or retain some states during the February and March general elections. The Imo governor, who is battling to get a Certificate of Return to the Senate from the Independent National Electoral Commission, spoke with State House correspondents in Abuja after he held a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari. Read more
NAF chief calls for alternative sources of funds for armed forces (Nation)
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has called for alternative sources of funding to enable the armed forces meet training and operational needs. Abubakar made the call in Abuja on Monday while speaking to newsmen after budget defence session with the House of Representatives committee on Air Force. He said that it was necessary to look beyond the budget by seeking fund through alternative sources. “We appreciate the support of the national assembly, but there is need to look beyond the annual budget, the Air Force is a very expensive institution that requires a lot of resources to function. Read more
Rivers election: Police man strategic locations as results collations begin Tuesday (Punch)
Rivers Police Command on Monday said it has commenced the deployment of personnel at strategic areas and collation centres for election results collation scheduled to begin in the state on Tuesday. The Command’s Spokesman, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, made this known in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Monday. The Independent National Electoral Commission had, on March 21, announced the resumption of collation and announcement of results in the state between April 2 and April 5. Read more
Soldiers nab two illegal makers of sub-machine guns, AK-47, pistols in Benue (Punch)
The headquarters of Operation Whirl Stroke, an ongoing special military operation in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba states, says it has arrested two suspected arms manufacturers in Logo Local Government Area of Benue. The OPWS commander, Maj-Gen Adeyemi Yekini, who disclosed this while addressing journalists on Monday in Makurdi, said that the two suspects were arrested by the OPWS sector command in Logo, following a tip-off from local informants. Yekini said that after local sources had revealed to the OPWS headquarters the activities of the manufactures, it took them four weeks of surveillance operations to identify the factories and the suspects. Read more
Cybercrime: Emergency Response Team will soon be established – NCC (Nation)
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that the National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) will soon be established, to curb cybercrime. The Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta made this known during the 87th Edition of the Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP) on Monday in Lagos. The theme of the TCP is ”Challenges of Cybercrime: The Role of the Telecoms Service Providers”. Danbatta said that the provision of CERT was to ensure efficient response to security incidents within the cyberspace. Read more
Algeria protests: President Bouteflika to quit before 28 April (BBC)
Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will step down before his mandate expires on 28 April, Algerian state media reports. The 82-year-old, who has been in power for 20 years, will ensure “continuity of the state’s institutions” before he quits, a presidential statement carried by APS news agency said. The news comes after weeks of mass protests demanding his resignation. As a result, he had dropped plans to seek re-election for a fifth term. The elections have been postponed and the government has promised to organise a national conference which would discuss reforms to address the discontent. Read more
At least 10 dead as boat full of Haiti migrants sinks (Guardian)
At least 10 Haitian migrants died when their boat sank off the coast of the Turks and Caicos Islands, officials said Monday. Rescue services managed to save 14 people when the boat went down Sunday in shark-infested waters off the archipelago, which is just southeast of the Bahamas and some 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Haiti. Police said there was little hope of finding any more survivors. Read more
Brexit votes: MPs fail to back proposals again (BBC)
MPs have again failed to agree on proposals for the next steps of Brexit. The Commons voted on four motions for leaving the EU, including a customs union and a Norway-style arrangement – keeping the UK in the single market – but none gained a majority. The votes were not legally binding, so the government would not have been forced to adopt the proposals. Theresa May’s plan that she negotiated with the EU has been rejected twice by historic margins in Parliament. The withdrawal agreement section of her deal was voted down again by MPs on Friday. Read more
Whistleblower: White House reversed security clearance denials (BBC)
A White House whistleblower has told Congress that dozens of rejected security clearance applications were overturned by the Trump administration. Tricia Newbold claimed applications that were denied for “serious disqualifying issues” were later reversed with little explanation. The veteran White House security adviser testified to the Democratic-led House Oversight and Reform Committee. Democrats have long claimed that White House officials have abused clearances. Read more
Five dead from suspected food poisoning at French retirement home (Guardian)
Five residents at a retirement home in southern France have died and more than a dozen others are in a serious condition after a suspected case of mass food poisoning, officials said Monday. Twenty-two people at the privately operated Cheneraie residence in Lherm, a town south of Toulouse, began showing symptoms including vomiting after dinner on Sunday, police said. Four deaths were initially announced by officials, and a source close to the investigation later told AFP that a fifth person had died. Read more
Trial begins for ex-US cop who fatally shot Australian woman (Guardian)
Jury selection began Monday in the murder trial of a former Minnesota police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Australian woman in 2017, provoking outrage in the United States and in the victim’s home country. Police say Mohamed Noor shot Justine Damond in Minneapolis in July 2017 while in the passenger seat of his police car. She had approached the cruiser after calling police to report a possible rape in the dark alley behind her home. Read more
Amazon caught selling ‘nauseating’ sex doll which comes tied-up and gagged (Metro)
A ‘nauseating sex doll’ of a young woman bound and gagged has been pulled from Amazon’s website amid outrage from customers. The online shopping giant has been forced to remove the doll, priced at £61, from the site, following a complaint from a London woman who claimed it was being sold for ‘male sexual abuse’. Images show the ‘adult toy’ sitting in a corner, dressed in a childlike pink skirt and white top, with its hands tied and ankles tied-up and a gag over its mouth. Read more
Immortalize my son, Sam Okwaraji’s mum tells FG (Nation)
Mother of late Super Eagles player, Sam Okwaraji, has asked the federal government and other relevant authorities not to abandon him but to immortalize him so as to encourage national sacrifice. Ma Janet Okwaraji who is in her 90s spoke when a delegation from a non-governmental organization, The Compassionate Heart led by Rev Fr Frankline Muo visited her residence in Abakpa, Enugu state to celebrate the 2019 mother’s day with her. The aging woman regretted that 30 years after her son slumped and died on active duty for the country, nothing had been done to appreciate the selfless sacrifice. Read more
Arsenal up to third as Ramsey, Lacazette sink Newcastle (Punch)
Aaron Ramsey lifted Arsenal into third place in the Premier League as the Wales midfielder’s clinical finish inspired a 2-0 win against Newcastle on Monday. Ramsey’s first half strike was followed by Alexandre Lacazette’s killer second in the closing stages at the Emirates Stadium, maintaining Arsenal’s impressive progress under Unai Emery. Emery’s side climbed two points above fourth placed Tottenham and fifth placed Manchester United to bolster their chance of qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four finish with seven games to go. Read more
Alexandre Lacazette reveals major difference between Unai Emery and Arsene Wenger (Metro)
Alexandre Lacazette admits the Arsenal team feel more confident under Unai Emery’s management in comparison to Arsene Wenger’s. The Frenchman scored in Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Newcastle in the Premier League on Monday night to push the club up to third in the Premier League. When asked about the difference within the team this season in comparison to last season under Wenger, Lacazette told Sky Sports: ‘I think we are more confident and everybody knows what we have to do. Read more
No point resting Messi, says Valverde (Guardian)
Lionel Messi will probably play against Villarreal in La Liga this week, because “there’s no suitable scenario for resting” the Argentine superstar, Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said on Monday. Barcelona are 10 points clear at the top of the Spanish League ahead of Tuesday’s away game, followed by a home tie with second-place Atletico Madrid on Saturday and then Manchester United away in a Champions League quarterfinal next Wednesday. “We attach great importance to this game,” Valverde said of the Villarreal game before acknowledging that “many people have their sights on the Champions League and also the Atletico game.” Read more
Andy Cole tells Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to build Manchester United team around Marcus Rashford (Metro)
Andy Cole has told Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to build his Manchester United team around Marcus Rashford. Solskjaer signed a three-year deal to become United’s full-time manager last week, having spent almost four months as caretaker boss. Rashford has flourished under the Norway legend and scored his ninth goal of Solskjaer’s reign in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Watford. And Manchester United legend Cole told Sky Sports: ‘Rashford has got all of the ability in the world but you could tell his confidence was waning under the previous manager, it was getting lower and lower. Read more
Football hacker Pinto will continue to cooperate (Guardian)
Rui Pinto, the hacker linked to the Football Leaks website, who is being held in Portugal awaiting trial, wants to continue aiding investigations in other European countries, his lawyers said on Monday. Pinto, who is Portuguese, was involved with a series of leaks that exposed murky dealings across European football. He was extradited from Hungary to Portugal on March 21. The Portuguese prosecutor has charged Pinto, who hacked millions of files, with “aggravated attempted extortion” and data theft. He could face 10 years in prison. Read more