Soldier celebrating his birthday allegedly shoots villager to death (Channels)
A soldier celebrating his birthday has allegedly killed a villager in the Marish Community of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The Bokkos Cultural Development Council Vanguard in a statement by its chairman Farmasum Fuddang said the soldier accidentally pulled the trigger at a relaxation centre in the community which allegedly hit and killed the villager.
Farmasum stated that the brutal act perpetrated by the trigger-happy soldier occurred on Monday evening. Read more
Baba Ijesha appeals conviction (Punch)
A Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James, alias Baba Ijesha, has asked the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, to set aside his conviction by a Lagos State High Court over the sexual assault of a minor.
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo (retd.) of the Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court, on July 14, 2022, sentenced Baba Ijesha to five years imprisonment over the sexual assault of a minor.
But dissatisfied with the judgment, Baba Ijesha approached the appeal court to challenge his five-year jail term. Read more
NSCDC parades 3 suspects with 16k ltrs of stolen diesel (Tribune)
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Delta Command has arrested and paraded three suspected oil thieves with about 16,000 litres of stolen locally refined diesel.
The NSCDC Commandant in Delta, Mr Jimoh Suleiman, who paraded the suspects and the products before journalists on Tuesday in Warri, said the product was laden in a large wooden boat popularly called the Cotonou boat.
The commandant said that the suspects were apprehended on Sunday around Madagho community in Warri South-West Local Government Area of the state, adding that the NSCDC operatives had been on the trail of the suspects for the past three days before they were eventually arrested. Read more
Follow due process in prosecuting Yahaya Bello, group tells EFCC (Nation)
Acoalition of anti-corruption groups under the platform of the Anti-Corruption and Research-based Data Initiative (ARDI) has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to follow due express in the prosecution of the former governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello.
Bello is currently under investigation over alleged embezzlement of a whooping sum of N80.2 billion.
Addressing reporters on Tuesday in Abuja, Chief John Ozigbo, said the coalition followed with keen interest the current impasse between the anti-graft agency and Bello, which led to the raid on his private residence in Abuja. Read more
Aviation unions accuse FG of plans to sideline FAAN staff, hire external managers (Sun)
The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) have alleged that the federal government plans to sideline some of the current staff in the Federal Airport of Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) who are due for promotion to the position of general managers and hire external managers instead.
In a letter addressed to the Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku and signed by the branch secretary of ATSSSAN, John Ogbe, NUATE secretary, John Agbor and ANAP secretary, A.M Jimoh, the unions expressed fears that if this planned recruitment is carried out, members of staff of the agency may lose their jobs and the sidelined staff might feel undervalued which would impact overall productivity. Read more
‘One way’ traffic offenders to undergo pyschiatric test, prosecution – Commissioner (Vanguard)
Lagos State Government has said that henceforth, any arrested offender who drive against the flow of traffic, popularly called “One-Way” will be taken for pyschiatric test and face prosecution.
Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi, stated this on Tuesday, at the commencement of the 2024 ministerial briefing on the activities of the ministry so far during the administration of Lagos State Governor, Bababjide Sanwo-Olu, held at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to Osiyemi, “The menace of driving against flow of traffic is worrisome and the state government is determined to curb it. Read more
Sack of Water Corporation staff final ploy to privatise water in Lagos, RDI alleges (Independent)
The Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) has urged the Lagos state government to unconditionally reverse the disengagement of 405 permanent staff of the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) who were fired allegedly because they were redundant.
The RDI gave the charge in a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday by Mr. Philip Jakpor, the Executive Director of the organization.
According to the statement, the RDI is convinced that the disengagement exercise, carried out by the new management of the LWC led by Engr. Tijani Muktar is only a smokescreen and part of the long-standing grand plan to privatize water resources in Lagos. Read more
FX Liquidity: CBN approves sale of additional $10k to 1,583 eligible BDCs (ThisDay)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the sale of an additional $10,000 to 1,583 eligible Bureaux De Change (BDCs) in the country to meet market demands.
The Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN, Dr Hassan Mahmud, made this known in a letter addressed to the President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) on Tuesday in Abuja.
Mahmud said that the CBN would sell to the BDCs at the rate of N1,021 to a dollar. Read more
Anne Hathaway recalls “gross” audition in the 2000s: “Now we know better” (FarOut)
Actor Anne Hathaway has recalled the nature of chemistry tests between actors in the early 2000s compared to the ways they are conducted now, calling the earlier approach “gross” and “the worst way to do it”.
In a new interview, which sees Hathaway detail the chemistry test she experienced for her new movie “The Idea of You” with her co-star Nicholas Galitzine, the actor reflects on older versions of screen tests when directors would require her to “make out” with at least ten actors during the casting process.
The actor told V Magazine: “Back in the 2000s – and this did happen to me – it was considered normal to ask an actor to make out with other actors to test for chemistry.” She added: “Which is actually the worst way to do it.” Read more
Clueless‘ Breckin Meyer remembers late costar Brittany Murphy (People)
Breckin Meyer has nothing but fond memories of his late Clueless costar, Brittany Murphy.
The actor, 49, discussed why Murphy — who died at age 32 on Dec. 20, 2009 — was one of the “greatest people I know” on the Monday, April 15, episode of the Still Here Hollywood podcast hosted by Steve Kmetko.
“Britt passed away as an adult, but she’s one of those people who I always think about. I wish I could see what she would have done now,” said Meyer. Read more
Man ‘cut off mum’s hand so he could use her fingertips to take cash from account’ (Metro)
A young man stabbed his mother to death as part of a ‘black magic’ ritual, it has been reported.
Sandra Maria dos Santos Carvalho, 58, was found with multiple knife wounds, and her hand chopped off, at her home in the city of Salvador, Brazil.
Her son, Jose Natan Carvalho, was arrested shortly after the gruesome discovery on Saturday. Read more
Kanye West says Drake’s raps ‘mean nothing’ & claims he ‘fixes the numbers’ (HipHopDx)
Kanye West has claimed that Drake‘s bars hold little value in his latest tirade against the Toronto rap star.
Following up his “Like That (Remix)” on which he dissed Drizzy, West appeared on Justin Laboy’s The Download podcast to deliver his most scathing assessment of the 6 God yet.
Discussing Drake’s recent diss song “Push Ups,” Kanye said: “Every bar that Drake said means nothing anymore. Drop and give me — I ain’t nobody gonna drop and do shit. Your raps don’t mean shit, n-gga.” Read more
As more bodies found, UN’s Turk ‘horrified’ by Gaza mass graves reports (AlJazeera)
Volker Turk, the United Nations human rights chief, has said he is “horrified” by the destruction of Nasser Medical Complex and al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip and reports of mass graves found in and around the hospitals amid Israel’s war on Gaza.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Turk called for independent and transparent investigations after Palestinian authorities said this week they had recovered hundreds of bodies at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the southern city earlier this month.
“Given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators,” Turk said, noting that hospitals are entitled to special protection under international humanitarian law and called “the intentional killing” of civilians and detainees a war crime. Read more
Luxury handbag designer sentenced to prison after smuggling bags made out of protected species into US (NBC)
A Colombian handbag designer has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after federal prosecutors said she illegally smuggled handbags made from caiman and python skin — both protected species — to New York.
Nancy Teresa Gonzalez de Barberi, the founder of luxury handbag company Gzuniga Ltd., had been indicted in April 2022 on a charge of conspiracy and two counts of smuggling into the U.S. for illegally importing the bags from February 2016 to April 2019.
Gonzalez and her company had pleaded guilty to the federal charges in November 2023. Read more
Egypt reclaims 3,400-year-old stolen statue of King Ramses II (NewArab)
Egypt welcomed home a 3,400-year-old statue depicting the head of King Ramses II after it was stolen and smuggled out of the country more than three decades ago, the country’s antiquities ministry said on Sunday.
The statue is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo but not on display. The artefact will be restored, the ministry said in a statement.
The statue was stolen from the Ramses II temple in the ancient city of Abydos in Southern Egypt more than three decades ago. The exact date is not known, but Shaaban Abdel Gawad, who heads Egypt’s antiquities repatriation department, said the piece is estimated to have been stolen in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Read more
Brilliant Bolaji claims Spanish Para Badminton International title (Nation)
Nigeria Para Badminton star, Mariam Eniola Bolaji has won the women’s singles SL3 title at the just concluded Spanish Para Badminton International 2024 in Victoria, Spain.
The world number 10 overwhelmed world number 6 Oksana Kozyna from Ukraine 2-0 (21-13, 21-8) to clinch the gold medal over the weekend.
Bolaji had defeated world number 13 Emona Ivanova (Bulgaria) 2-0 (21-4, 21-8) to set up a clash with the 2023 silver medallist in the finals. Read more
Teenage star, Kuti, leads Team Nigeria to ITTF regional championships (Leadership)
Teenage sensation, Matthew Kuti, will lead team Nigeria when they begin their title defence at the 2024 ITTF West Africa Regional Championships in Lome, Togo from April 25 to 27.
Kuti, a double medallist at the 13th African Games in Ghana will be making his debut at the regional tournament which serves as the qualifier for the 2024 African Championships in Ethiopia in October.
Kuti will face experienced players like former champion Oba Oba Kizito of Cote d’Ivoire and homeboy Fanny Kokou, in Togo. Read more
Okoku tasks NFF on choice of new Eagles coach (Punch)
Former Nigeria midfielder Paul Okoku opines that the next Super Eagles head coach should have a proven track record of developing young talents and implementing a dynamic attacking style of play, PUNCH Sports Extra writes.
The US-based former U-20 assistant captain to the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico, made this observation in a telephone interview with our correspondent, against the backdrop of the varied opinions of several Nigerian football stakeholders on who the next handler of the three-time African champions should be.
“Regarding the new coach for the Super Eagles, Nigeria could benefit from a coach with a proven track record of developing young talent and implementing a dynamic, attacking style of play,” Okoku, a member of the silver-winning Eagles squad at the 1984 AFCON, said. Read more
Aquatics GB ‘extremely concerned’ by failed tests (BBC)
Aquatics GB says it is “extremely concerned” after it emerged 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned drug before the Tokyo Olympics but were cleared to compete.
The swimmers all tested positive for heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) at a training camp seven months before the delayed Games in 2021.
It was determined they ingested the substance unintentionally by contamination, but the authorities involved in that decision have been heavily criticised. Read more
Police evict migrants from a makeshift tent camp in Paris (AfricaNews)
It was a chilly morning on Tuesday, when police in Paris arrived before dawn to awaken a group of young men from West Africa living in tents on the street.
In this latest operation ahead of the Olympics, they evicted the migrants from their makeshift camp just a few steps away from the Seine River.
Most of them were underage and in the process of seeking residency papers. Read more
Ferrari to add blue to iconic red F1 car at Miami Grand Prix (ESPN)
Ferrari will race at the Miami Grand Prix with a colour scheme featuring two different shades of blue to mark its history in the United States, the team announced on Tuesday.
The Italian outfit, famous for racing in its distinctive shade of red, will unveil the new look ahead of the Florida race on May 6.
The livery will mark 70 years since the manufacturer entered the U.S. marketplace. Read more