Tension grips Lagos motor parks as Baruwa, MC Oluomo fight for control (Tribune)
Uneasy calm now pervades hundreds of parks in Lagos following Monday’s bloody free-for-all, as the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the state’s Parks Management Committee jostle for control and supremacy.
Hooded supporters on both sides clashed at the Fagba area of the state, with the crisis spreading to the notorious Agege axis.
It took the coming of the State Rapid Response Squad for the gladiators to retreat after several combatants had been injured in the clash. On its verified social media handle, the police unit described the battlers as hooded miscreants.
Controversial unionist, Mr Musiliu Akinsanya, a.k.a. MC Oluomo, who was appointed the chairman of the Parks Management Committee by the state government, was said to be visiting when the area was thrown into crisis. Read more
Cossy Ojiakor reveals her new source of making good money (Vanguard)
Cossy Ojiakor has become phenomenally popular not just on account of her acting and singing talents but more as a result of what Mother Nature has blessed her with, which is her bulbous, bouncing, ballistic boobs. And she has been rather generous with them over the years, to tease our sensibilities.
Cossy has simply entertained us with her God given gifts and now, it seems they are bringing home the goodies to her as she is smiling to the bank for what used to be free for all to see.
Speaking with Nollywood’s Queen of Boobs lately, she revealed her new source of income, which according to her, is too good to be real. The source is a platform called “OnlyFans”.
“Can you believe I was making so much money on a monthly basis on “OnlyFans” but I lost my account so now I am just building it back. It’s for fans. Like all those people that don’t want to publicly identify as fans can support you there. They pay for videos, the same videos I post on my WhatsApp Status for personal friends. I sell the videos to them for good money. Even ‘runs girls’ can cash out taking pictures instead of sleeping around,” she said. Read more
Police arrest 3 youth for possession of human heart (Nation)
Police in Osun have arrested three young men at the Osogbo/Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ife Campus Road, Ile-Ife, for being in possession of a human heart.
Police spokesperson in Osun, SP Yemisi Opalola, said two of the suspects are 21 years old, while the third suspect is 25 years of age.
“The Osun Police Command, in its efforts to sanitise the state of incessant ritual killings and other vices, has arrested three young men.
“On April 7, at about 11a.m., detectives on ‘Stop-and-Search’ duty accosted three men on a motorcycle on the Osogbo/OAU Ife Campus Road. Read more
Easter: CAN urges Nigerians to be hopeful, steadfast (DailyTrust)
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has urged Nigerians to be hopeful that the nation would overcome its present challenges.
The President, CAN, and Co-Chairman, Nigeria Inter Religious Council (NIREC). Dr. Samson Olasupo Ayokunle made the call yesterday in his Easter Message to all Nigerians titled ‘Nigeria Will Rise Again’.
“Fellow Christians and fellow Nigerians, the situation in the country today, to say the truth, without an iota of politics looks very gloomy. There seems to be nothing to celebrate because of unimaginable insecurity.
“Despite the efforts of the government to arrest the situation, the scope of insecurity keeps expanding to our consternation. Coupled with insecurity are other challenges such as mass unemployment, industrial disharmony, especially that of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), just to mention but a few.
“The prices of goods and services have risen in a way unprecedented in our country before and entrepreneurs are relocating to other countries that have better ease of doing business,” Ayokunle said.
He, however said despite the challenges, there is still reasons to celebrate. Read more
Easter Special Patrol: FRSC deploys over 1000 personnel in Anambra (Independent)
The Anambra State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps says over 1000 personnel would be deployed for Easter special patrols across the state.
The sector commander Mr. Adeoye Irelewuyi who disclosed this to newsmen at the command headquarters in Awka said about 420 Regular Marshals and about 604 Special Marshals would be deployed for the exercise.
Irelewuyi said the command has mapped out all the critical areas in Anambra state, especially in view of traffic gridlock and road traffic crashes, adding that the corps will pay particular attention to the Bridge Head Onitsha, Building Materials Junction Ogidi, Tarzan Junction Nkpor, Flyovers in Awka and Amawbia respectively.
He said officers of the corps will be deployed to the aforementioned areas and other areas across the state for regular traffic control to guarantee smooth flow of both human and vehicular movements during the Easter period. Read more
I weep for Nigeria, SAN faults pardon of Nyame, Dariye (Punch)
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Jibrin Okutepa, has faulted the presidential pardon granted to former governors of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye; and Taraba State, Rev Jolly Nyame.
The lawyer noted that he wept after hearing that Dariye and Nyame were pardoned.
The National Council of State had on Thursday endorsed the pardon of Dariye, Nyame and 157 other convicts following the recommendation of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy.
The 12-member committee, inaugurated by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in 2018 is headed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami. Read more
2023: ‘We’ve handed him over to God’, Tinubu’s supporters go spiritual (DailyTrust)
Supporters and loyalists of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader and presidential hopeful, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu have sought spiritual intervention towards the realisation of his ambition in 2023.
The supporters under the aegis of the Indomitable Tinubu Support Organisation (ITSO) during a special Tafsir (Islamic lecture) in honour of Tinubu prayed to Almighty God to make his 2023 ambition a reality.
Chief Imams from all the divisions in Lagos were invited for the special prayer led by a prominent cleric and Chief Missioner of Jamahliy Society, Sheikh Abdullahi Akinbode.
Also, Chief Imam of Badagry Division, Imam Abdulkadir, Chief Imam, Ansar-Ud-Deen Itire, Imam Abdulhameed Adewole, Chief Imam of Epe Division, Sabrullah Abiola also did special prayers for Tinubu. Read more
Olu of Warri didn’t endorse Tinubu’s presidential ambition – Palace (Guardian)
The Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, has said he did not endorse the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the 2023 General Elections, contrary to media publications.
The Head, Back Office Operations, Office of the Ogiame Atuwatse III, Oriiz Onuwaje, gave the clarification in a statement issued on Saturday and made available to newsmen in Warri.
Onuwaje was responding to media reports that the king had endorsed Tinubu when a delegation of the South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) and Delta for Bola Ahmed Tinubu visited him on Thursday at his palace.
Onuwaje said the reports were “taken out of context to suit a narrative”. Read more
GLO felicitates with Nigerians at Easter, sues for love, peace (ThisDay)
Digital services provider, Globacom, has felicitated with Nigerians as they join other Christians worldwide to celebrate this year’s Easter.
In a goodwill message sent by the company over the weekend in Lagos, Globacom sued for peace which, according to the network, is the fulcrum of the Christian faith. It said that Christ offered himself as propitiation for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal exemplar of peace on earth and goodwill to men.
According to the company, Christ preached love towards mankind. His ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’ sermon has been adjudged one of the shortest but most profound teachings by which man can dwell without rancor with others.
“If we all embrace this teaching, the ills in our society will be greatly reduced, if not totally eradicated,” Globacom opined, adding that Jesus Christ sacrificing himself for the sins of mankind is the greatest act of love ever known. Read more
Serena Williams expresses interest in seeing King Richard sequel films (People)
It sounds like Serena Williams wouldn’t be opposed to a sequel to — or a trilogy for — King Richard.
While in conversation with Insider this week, the 40-year-old tennis icon expressed interest in seeing more of her and sister Venus Williams’ story told onscreen following the success of 2021’s Oscar-winning King Richard — a biopic film that follows the athletes’ early years with their father, Richard Williams (played by Will Smith).
“King Richard had a perfect ending with Venus on the tennis court … Venus goes in her direction, and I go in my direction,” Serena explained. “It’s two completely different stories.”
However, the tennis champ admitted that should a follow-up film ever occur, the story would likely be hard for her to relive. Read more
Ukrainian filmmakers renew call for boycott of Russian films (Variety)
Ukrainian filmmakers and producers discussed the act of resisting war through images during an online talk Thursday at international documentary film festival Visions du Réel.
The panel was made up of producer Illia Gladshtein and director Nadia Parfan, whose film “Heat Singers” screened at the festival in 2019, Maksim Nakonechnyi, whose debut film “Butterfly Vision” will be in the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes next month, and photographer and director Artem Iurchenko (“Cursed Days,” 2018).
Nakonechnyi has been shooting in Ukraine since the first days of the war and Parfan returned from an artist’s residence in Egypt in the wake of the Russian invasion to document what was happening in her country. Iurchenko, who is based in Paris, has been traveling across Europe in his car since the start of the war, transporting refugees, equipment, medical and humanitarian aid to and from Ukraine. A monumental print of his photograph of a Ukrainian child refugee was unfurled on the main square of Lviv by French artist JR in mid-March in a tribute to the children affected by war.
Much of the online debate centered on what panel members describe as Russia’s postcolonial narrative. Read more
DaBaby ‘shoots intruder’ at his North Carolina home (Independent)
Rapper DaBaby has appeared to confirm that he shot a man allegedly intruding at his property in North Carolina.
On Friday 15 April, the controversial artist shared a clip of a line from the 2002 crime drama Paid in Full, in which character Rico (played by rapper Cam’ron’) says: “N***as get shot every day, B. You’ll be aight, n***a. You tough right?”
DaBaby captioned the post: “Chose not to take a n***a life the other day and it felt great. Buddy ain’t deserve to go, I step righteously. Heal up & live my boy! Just don’t bring ya ass back.”
Earlier, TMZ had cited law enforcement in a report that said DaBaby, real name Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, had “exchanged words with an intruder and shot the man in the leg” on 13 April.
The 30-year-old reportedly then phoned 911 and “was cooperative with cops when they arrived”. Read more
Black Sherif covers the ‘Rap Life’ playlist on Apple Music (MyJoy)
Ghanaian fast-rising singer and rapper, Mohammed Ismail Shariff, famously known for his moniker Black Sherif, is currently on the cover of the prestigious ‘Rap Life’ playlist on Apple Music.
This came in just two weeks into his release of the globally acclaimed single, ‘Kwaku the Traveller’, which keeps raking in numbers across the digital streaming platforms and other social entertainment platforms such as TikTok and Triller.
‘Rap Life’ is a new global playlist focusing on contemporary rap artists and culture.
It replaces the former “The A-List: Hip-Hop” playlist according to Ebro Darden Apple Music’s Global Editorial Head of Hip-Hop and R&B: “We flipped it to dig deeper into the lifestyle [and to] keep pushing the culture forward.” Read more
Thousands flock to Indio for much-anticipated Coachella Music & Arts Festival (CBS)
A shirtless Justin Bieber and a Harry Styles-Shania Twain duet were among the first-night highlights as the Coachella Music & Art Festival returned to the Empire Polo Club following two years of cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing thousands to the Indio area.
Styles, a longtime fan of the veteran singer, joined Twain to sing her 1999 hit “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” and also introduced two new songs. Elsewhere, Bieber showed up during singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar’s set to perform their chart-topping hit “Peaches.”
Styles headlined Friday, which also included performances by Caesar, Princess Nokia, MIKA, Ari Lennox, Anitta, and Grupo Firme.
Billie Eilish is set to headline Saturday with Swedish House Mafia with The Weeknd topping the list of performers on Sunday. Read more
‘Macbeth’ director goes on stage after coronavirus forces another actor out (Deadline)
“When shall we three meet again?” The answer is: when corona lets us. Earlier this month, Daniel Craig brought preview performances of a new Broadway production of Macbeth to a halt after testing positive for coronavirus. The James Bond star has now returned to the theatre, but the show continues to be challenged by Covid-forced absences.
Thursday evening saw yet another actor testing positive, and with all the show’s understudies already filling in for other roles, the director was forced to come up with a novel solution: take to the stage himself.
The New York Times reports that Sam Gold took on two small roles on the night. This is just the latest challenge for the production which only got through three performances following its April 1 debut before the first actor tested positive for coronavirus, and it had to cancel that day’s performance. When Craig tested positive three days later, the play had to close for a further 11 days.
The production, starring Ruth Negga alongside Craig, is scheduled to open on April 28, making it eligible for this year’s Tony Awards. Gold previously won a Tony in 2015 as the director of the musical Fun Home. Read more
Fuel ship sinks off Tunisia, threatening environmental disaster (VOA)
Tunisian authorities intensified efforts Saturday to avoid an environmental disaster after a merchant fuel ship carrying 1,000 tons of fuel sank off the coast of Gabes on Friday, two security sources told Reuters.
The Tunisian navy had rescued all seven crew members from the ship, which was heading from Equatorial Guinea to Malta, and sent a distress call seven miles away from the southern city of Gabes, the sources added.
The cause of the incident was bad weather, the environment ministry said, adding that water has seeped into the ship, reaching a height of two meters.
Authorities were working to avoid an environmental disaster and reduce any impact, the ministry said in a statement. Read more
Super Falcons know AFCON group foes on April 25 (Leadership)
Nine –time champions Nigeria will know their group phase opponents at the 12th Women Africa Cup of Nations when the draw is staged on Monday, 25th April 2022.
Goals by new birds Ifeoma Onumonu and Esther Okoronkwo steered the Super Falcons to a 3-0 aggregate win over Cote d’Ivoire in the final round of the qualifiers in February. In the earlier round, forward Uchenna Kanu scored both goals in Lagos to lift the Falcons past the Black Queens of Ghana, who won the return leg 1-0 in Accra.
Nigeria won the first edition of the Women Africa Cup of Nations (then known as African Women Championship) staged in the country in 1998, and has won seven other championships. The only times the Super Falcons did not emerge victorious in the history of the competition were when the tournaments were staged in Equatorial Guinea, in 2008 and 2012.
This year’s tournament in Morocco, 2nd – 23rd July comes with added impetus as the four semi finalists will represent Africa at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Australia/New Zealand. Read more
Antonio Conte hopes Tottenham will learn important lesson from shock Brighton defeat (Independent)
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte says his side’s last-gasp defeat to Brighton will be a good test of their mentality.
A week after the Seagulls beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium to hand Spurs the initiative in the battle to qualify for the Champions League, they repeated the trick as Leandro Trossard scored a 90th-minute winner.
It pegs Tottenham back in a race they looked to have control of and the Gunners, West Ham and Manchester United will all be buoyed by this result ahead of their games later in the weekend.
After a brilliant run of form this was as bad a display as there has been under Conte and their failure to have a shot on target defies their free-flowing nature of recent weeks. Read more
Man City apologise to Liverpool for fan chanting over Hillsborough tribute (BBC)
Manchester City have apologised after chanting from some fans disturbed a minute’s silence marking the 33rd anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.
The silence, before Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool at Wembley, had to be cut short by referee Michael Oliver.
“Manchester City are extremely disappointed with the actions of some City supporters during the minute’s silence before today’s game,” a club spokesperson said.
“The club sincerely apologises to all those connected with Liverpool Football Club.” Read more
Ribery believes in Salernitana’s survival dream after Samp win (France24)
Franck Ribery believes that Salernitana can perform a miracle escape from relegation after Saturday’s 2-1 win at fellow strugglers Sampdoria kept alive their hopes of staying in Serie A.
Goals from Federico Fazio and Ederson in the first six minutes in Genoa were enough to take Salernitana to 19 points and continue the southern team’s bid for safety after an entire season at the bottom of the league.
With two games in hand, Salernitana are nine points behind Cagliari who sit six points and one place outside the relegation zone following their 1-0 win over Sassuolo earlier on Saturday.
“Today we showed that we’re working hard and we believe in survival,” France icon Ribery told DAZN after playing 25 minutes as a substitute at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. Read more
Tiger Woods commits to pro-am in Ireland ahead of The Open (ESPN)
A week after competing in the Masters, Tiger Woods has committed to play in the JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor in Limerick, Ireland, on July 4-5.
The pro-am, which benefits charities in Ireland, will be played 10 days before the start of the 150th Open at St. Andrews in Scotland. Woods committed to play in The Open after his final round at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday.
The 15-time major champion said he wasn’t sure if he would play in next month’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, or the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, in June.
“It’ll be just the big events,” Woods told Sky Sports on Sunday. “I don’t know if it’ll be Southern Hills or not. But I am looking forward to St. Andrews. That is something that is near and dear to my heart. I’ve won two Opens there. It’s the home of golf. It’s my favorite golf course in the world, so I will be there for that one. But anything in between that, I don’t know.” Read more
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina makes first Masters final after entertaining battle (Tennis365)
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina sealed a first ATP 1000 final with a 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 victory over Grigor Dimitrov at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Davidovich Fokina gained an early edge as he picked up the first break point of the match after just nine minutes.
The Spaniard held firm for the rest of the first set and gave Dimitrov plenty of trouble on serve on the way to 6-4 first set win.
Dimitrov responded with a strong start to the second set going 2-0 up, but Davidovich Fokina would claw the break back before taking the initiative and serving for the match at 5-4.
Tyson Fury would be ‘eaten for dinner’ if he fought in the Tyson, Bruno era (GMS)
Former heavyweight champion Frank Bruno, has stated that the boxing giants of his generation would “eat Tyson Fury for dinner” as he believes there to be a big difference between the current boxing era and the one that he fought in.
Bruno doesn’t think the Gypsy King would be able to compare with the top fighters of his time and thinks he is “living on a different cloud.”
British boxing icon Bruno won the WBC heavyweight title after facing a gauntlet of challengers including Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Oliver McCall, and Joe Bugner.
Bruno eventually won against McCall in 1995 at Wembley, but shortly lost the green and gold strap to Tyson during their rematch in ’96. Bruno retired shortly thereafter. Read more