Slain job seeker buried, as alleged killer explains how she was murdered (ThisDay)
The prime suspect in the murder of Miss Iniubong Umoren, a 26-year-old graduate of Philosophy of the University of Uyo (UNIUYO), Uduak Frank Akpan, has finally explained how he murdered her..
Akpan had recently lured, raped and eventually killed Umoren who was invited for a phony job interview in Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom state.
The 20 year old suspect, who was paraded along with his father, Friday said he was ready to take the same punishment, if found guilty after trial and conviction.
The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Amiengheme Andrew, paraded the suspects at the State Police headquarters, Ikot Akpanabia, near Uyo, the state capital on Friday. Read more
We’ve completed over 1, 097 projects covering 970 schools – Sanwo-Olu (Guardian)
Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Friday said that his administration had so far completed over 1,097 projects covering 970 schools across the state.
Sanwo-Olu disclosed this at the inauguration of new infrastructure projects at Oregun High School, Babs Fafunwa Millennium Senior Grammar School and Babs Fafunwa Millennium Senior Secondary School in Ikeja.
The governor, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, at the events, said that the projects would accelerate students’ access to world-class learning.
The governor was represented by his Special Adviser on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka,
Sanwo-Olu said: “It gives me great pleasure to officially commission some of our school infrastructural projects, which will improve the learning and teaching environment in our public schools. Read more
86 freight trains arrive in Nigeria (Punch)
Eighty-six freight trains have recently arrived in Nigeria, according to a statement released on Friday by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd.
The statement revealed that the 86 freight trains will be used on standard gauge railways in different parts of Nigeria.
“Recently, the first batch of 86 freight trains arrived in Nigeria. They will be used on standard gauge railways like the Abuja-Kaduna Railway, Itakpe-Warri Railway, and Lagos-Ibadan Railway.
“This will also be our first time undertaking Port-Railway intermodal transport during the trial operation of the Lagos-Ibadan railway,” the statement partly read. Read more
ICPC Declares Buhari’s Son-In-Law Wanted Over $65m ‘Fraud’ (NewTelegraph)
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has declared Gimba Yau Kumo, son-in-law of President Muhammadu Buhari, wanted over an alleged $65 million fraud.
In a notice published on Thursday, Azuka Ogugua, spokesperson of the anti-graft commission, said Kumo is declared wanted alongside Tarry Rufus and Bola Ogunsola over alleged misappropriation and dispersion of national housing funds.
Kumo, a former managing director of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, married Fatima, the president’s daughter, in 2016 at Daura, Katsina state.
“The persons whose pictures appear above, Mr. Tarry Rufus, Mr. Gimba Yau Kumo and Mr. Bola Ogunsola, are hereby declared WANTED by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in connection with issues bordering on misappropriation of National Housing Funds and diversion of the sum of Sixty Five Million dollars ($65,000,000),” the ICPC said. Read more
We’re ready to help you, Buhari tells new Chadian leader (Guardian)
President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged Nigeria’s readiness to assist the Republic of Chad to stabilise and return to constitutional order, asking the country’s new leader to seek help without hesitation.
“We are bound together by culture and geography, and we will help in all ways we can,” President Buhari said.
The President spoke Friday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while hosting Lt. Gen. Mahamat Idris Deby Itno, the President of the Transitional Military Council of Chad. Read more
I haven’t gone to church since I met Davido – Peruzzi (Punch)
Popular singer, Tobechukwu Victor Okoh, also known as Peruzzi, has revealed that he has not gone to church since he met Davido even though he believes in God.
The singer disclosed this when he featured on Joey Akan’s ‘Afrobeats Intelligence’ where he also spoke about his preparation for stardom and future plans.
He said: “I haven’t gone to church since I met David. I haven’t been to church in like four years. But yeah, I believe in God.”
“I’ve always seen myself as a star before I met anybody in this industry, I used to act like ‘people are watching me.’ Read more
JAMB considers postponement of UTME, as 600,000 are yet to register (ThisDay)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is considering postponing the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scheduled to hold between June 5 and 19 as over 600,000 candidates have made unsuccessful attempts to register for the exercise.
The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, who disclosed this during a virtual meeting with UTME committees and stakeholders on Friday, said so far, 1.1 million candidates have registered for the 2021 UTME.
The JAMB boss stated that the board anticipates approximately 1.9 million registrations at the end of the exercise.
He said even though 50 per cent of the candidates have already registered without problem, there was need to carry everyone along, adding that after meeting with stakeholders on Saturday, the board will decide on whether to shift the exam forward or not. Read more
NSE lauds quality, local content in Anambra cargo airport project (Guardian)
The Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) has commended the quality of work at the ongoing Anambra Cargo and Passenger Airport Project at Umueri, Anambra East Local Government Area.
The engineers, who included structural engineers and transport/highway engineers, made the commendation during a visit to the airport on Friday.
The Vice Chairman of NSE, Awka Branch, Mr Finbaar Ajegbu, who led the engineers to the site, said that they were satisfied with the quality of materials and the local content infusion.
Ajegbu said that the engineers had longed to visit the airport so they could make informed assessment of the project. Read more
“Bring It On” is getting a horror sequel (Metro)
They’re sexy, they’re cute, they’re… outrunning a murderer. Bring It On is getting the horror treatment, as a slasher installment of the franchise has been announced. Syfy has confirmed that Bring It On: Halloween is on the way in 2022, and will be the first non-comedy film in the cheerleading franchise. ‘Held down by restrictive rules, an embattled cheerleading squad seeks the freedom of a creepy, closed school gym to practice for regionals, but when members of the squad start to disappear, the cheerleaders must unmask their assailant to save themselves,’ the synopsis reads. Considering many a high school slasher films involves cheerleaders outrunning the bad guy, we’re surprised it took Hollywood this long to combine the two worlds. Way before everyone binged Cheer on Netflix, Bring It On became a teen phenomenon in the year 2000. The high school comedy starred Kirsten Dunst as Torrance, a cheerleading team captain who discovers that her predecessor has been stealing all their trophy-winning routines from another team. Read more
Woman Sitting Near a Window: Pablo Picasso work sells for $100m (BBC)
A painting by Pablo Picasso has sold for more than $100m – marking the fifth work by the Spanish artist to sell for a nine-figure sum.
Woman Sitting Near a Window (Marie-Therese) sold for $103.4m (£73.5m) on Thursday at Christie’s auction house in New York.
That figure comprises $90m for the painting itself, with fees and commissions on top, Christie’s said.
The auction house had estimated the painting would sell for $55m.
The work, titled Femme Assise Pres d’Une Fenetre (Marie-Therese) in Spanish, was sold after 19 minutes of bidding.
The impressive sales figure is a sign of the art market’s vitality, which will be a source of relief for the industry after an uncertain year amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more
Tom Cruise poses for selfies with fans after landing helicopter near Mission: Impossible set (Metro)
Tom Cruise delighted fans in Leighton Buzzard earlier this week by posing for pictures after landing a helicopter on a sports field – as you do. The star, 58, who is filming for Mission: Impossible 7 in a nearby quarry, was happy to chat and take pictures with residents after his rather noticeable arrival from the sky, before being driven to the film’s set. Speaking to Leighton Buzzard Observer, eyewitness Dave Burton, 64, said that there were ‘about 20 to 50 people there’, and it was Tom who initiated the photographs by beckoning someone over as ‘a lot of people were standing back, being respectful’. Dave continued: ‘He had his mask on, and he would point to the ground and say “stand there”. Read more
South Korean mother jailed for adopted child’s death (Punch)
A woman on Friday, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for abusing her adopted daughter to death in South Korea.
The woman, surnamed Jang, was accused by the Seoul Southern District Court for intentionally harming her daughter, named Jung-in, while she claimed that the baby’s death was an accident, according to reports.
Adopted in February last year, the 16-month-old toddler died in October after suffering internal bleeding and severe abdominal injuries.
According to an official autopsy report, the injuries were caused by “strong external force’’ as fractured bones and other signs of abuse were also found on the child’s body. Read more
Netanyahu vows Hamas will pay ‘very heavy price’ as Israel pounds Gaza tunnels (NYPost)
The Israeli military pounded northern Gaza with heavy artillery and conducted extensive airstrikes Friday in efforts to destroy a vast network of tunnels used by Palestinian extremists, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that the campaign “will continue as long as necessary” — since “the last word has not been said.”
Paving the way for a possible ground invasion, the Israel Defense Forces has called up 9,000 reservists and massed troops along the border as the fighting with Hamas and Islamic Jihad entered its fifth day.
The operation will persist, according to Netanyahu, who said in a video statement that Israel would “extract a very heavy price from Hamas,” the Jerusalem Post reported. Read more
Covid: Greece ends lockdown measures and opens to tourists (BBC)
Greece has launched its tourist season, lifting most remaining restrictions on movement and declaring “we are putting the lockdown behind us”.
Although an average of 2,000 daily Covid cases are still being reported, vaccinations are being rolled out.
German tourists have begun flying in. From 17 May it will not be illegal for Britons to travel to “amber list” Greece, but they are advised not to.
Only for “green list” countries such as Portugal will rules ease significantly. Read more
Holocaust: Synagogue opens at Nazi massacre site in Ukraine (BBC)
Ukrainian officials have opened a synagogue at Babyn Yar near Kyiv – a place where the Nazis murdered nearly 34,000 Jews in World War Two.
Babyn Yar was a ravine where Jews from Kyiv were lined up and shot dead by the invading Germans over two days in 1941.
The death toll rose above 100,000 over the next two years as Hitler’s Nazi SS murdered more Jews there, along with Roma (Gypsies) and Soviet prisoners.
The synagogue is part of a new memorial being developed in the area. Read more
Italian Open: Rafael Nadal beats Alexander Zverev in Rome (BBC)
Rafael Nadal responded to doubts over his form with a straight-set win against sixth seed Alexander Zverev in the Italian Open quarter-finals.
Spain’s Nadal, who saved two match points before beating Denis Shapovalov in a marathon match on Thursday, was much improved in a 6-3 6-4 victory.
It was a measure of revenge for the second seed, who lost to Zverev in the Madrid quarter-finals last week.
The 34-year-old will now face American world number 47 Reilly Opelka. Read more
David Luiz to leave Arsenal at the end of the season (Metro)
David Luiz has informed Arsenal he will leave the club at the end of the season following talks with the north London club. The 34-year-old joined the Gunners in the summer of 2019 from Chelsea after he fell out with Frank Lampard and was deemed surplus to requirements by his former teammate. Luiz endured a difficult first season with Arsenal and looked certain to be heading for the exit door after an error-strewn performance against Manchester City culminated in a red card. Mikel Arteta, however, launched a staunch defence of the former Brazil international and his faith was rewarded with several colossal displays en route to a memorable FA Cup triumph. Read more
Neymar to miss PSG’s French Cup final against Monaco (Punch)
Neymar will not play for Paris Saint-Germain in next week’s French Cup final against Monaco after a booking in Wednesday’s semi-final saw the Brazilian incur a suspension.
The world’s most expensive player was shown a yellow card not long after coming on as a late substitute in the last-four tie in Montpellier, triggering a one-game ban that had been hanging over him since he was sent off in a Ligue 1 match against Lille last month.
PSG could still appeal the ban, thereby potentially releasing him to play against Monaco in the final at the Stade de France, which will go ahead behind closed doors.
Neymar scored in the shoot-out as PSG beat Montpellier 6-5 on penalties following a 2-2 draw in the semi-finals. Read more
Aymeric Laporte switch from France to Spain approved by FIFA (BBC)
Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte has had his switch in nationality from France to Spain approved by Fifa.
The 26-year-old was granted Spanish citizenship earlier in the week and can now play for the country at Euro 2020 this summer.
Laporte has played for France’s youth teams but has not made an appearance for the country’s senior team.
A Fifa statement said he could play for Spain with “immediate effect”. Read more
Alec Burks sparks comeback as Knicks stay alive for No. 4 seed in East (NYPost)
These Knicks never stop impressing with their fortitude and resiliency.
On their return to the Garden after a six-game, 11-day Western road trip, and with one of their top performers, Derrick Rose, out with a sprained ankle, the Knicks fell behind by 17 points to the Spurs during a third-quarter disaster Thursday.
But up to the plate stepped reserve swingman Alec Burks, who made his own return from a three-game absence with a knee bruise and COVID-19 to spark the Knicks to a raging 102-98 comeback victory.
Burks, who recently missed eight games with COVID-19, scored a season-high 30 points, and RJ Barrett got hot during the comeback, hitting six straight shots at one juncture to finish with 24 points after his eight-point dud in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Tuesday. Read more
Jurgen Klopp defends Sadio Mane over snub after Liverpool’s win vs Manchester United (Metro) Jurgen Klopp has defended Sadio Mane after he was snubbed by the Senegalese forward in the immediate aftermath of Liverpool’s victory over Manchester United on Thursday evening. Mane started the game on the bench as Liverpool ran out 4-2 winners at Old Trafford following a double from Roberto Firmino plus goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah. Klopp brought Mane on with 16 minutes remaining but as the teams made their way back to the tunnel after the final whistle, Mane refused the offer of a handshake from the Liverpool manager. Mane has been heavily criticised for showing a lack of respect towards his manager, but Klopp is keen to play down the incident. Read more