Why murdered Catholic priest was kidnapped – Suspect (DailyTrust)
A chief suspect (names withheld) in the kidnapping and killing of Rev. Fr. Sylvester Okechukwu, has provided reasons for his actions.
In an exclusive interview, the suspect , who said he needed N200,000 to solve a personal problem, spoke to NAN at the Headquarters of the Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), where he is currently being held on Thursday in Jos.
The chief suspect is helping detectives to unravel the cause of the incident and how to arrest other suspects now on the run. Read more
Personal Income Tax by wealthy Nigerians to hit 25%, says Edun (Nation)
Personal Income Tax (PIT) payments by wealthy Nigerians will go up from 18.6 per cent to 25 per cent when the Tax Reform Bills become law, according to a projection by the Federal Government.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, said the upward trajectory in revenue will complement the 20 per cent increase recorded last year.
He said Nigeria’s economy has achieved relative stability over the past 18 to 20 months. Read more
60-year age limit: PDP, others knock Reps, say bill against President, govs misplaced (Punch)
The Peoples Democratic Party, the Coalition of United Political Parties and the Social Democratic Party have condemned the House of Representatives’ move to impose age limits for the offices of the President and governor in the country.
Through a bill that passed second reading on Thursday, the House aimed to prevent individuals over 60 from running for president and governor in Nigeria.
If the bill scales legislative scrutiny and is signed into law, President Bola Tinubu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, will miss out on the 2027 presidential contest as they are all above 60 years. Read more
Appeal Court declares detention of 12-yr-old boy illegal, fines SSS N5m — IPOB counsel (Vanguard)
The Counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, yesterday said
the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu presided over by Justice Abdul-Azeez Waziri, has upheld the judgment of the Enugu State High Court which declared the arrest and detention of Stephen Egwuatu by the State Security Services, SSS, as unlawful and violation of his fundamental rights as well as fined the SSS, N5 million.
Egwuatu, now 16 years old was said to have been arrested when he was 12-year-old on the November 8, 2021. He was however, released on November 11, 2021.
The IPOB, lawyer in a statement recalled after the Enugu High Court had earlier declared the SSS arrest of Egwuatu as illegal and fined SSS N5 million, SSS appealed judgment. Read more
Reps pass bill to return Nigeria to parliamentary system (Guardian)
House of representatives, Bill
A bill seeking to return Nigeria to the parliamentary system of government passed second reading at the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The bill seeks to establish the office of the Prime Minister as Head of Government and the President as Head of State.
The proposed legislation was among the 32 constitutional amendment bills passed by the lawmakers during a plenary session presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu. Read more
Senate okays conduct of all elections same day (Sun)
The Senate has passed for second reading a bill seeking to amend the Electoral Act 2022 to cut the cost of elections and introduce same-day voting for all elective offices in Nigeria.
The bill, titled the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was sponsored by Saliu Mustapha (Kwara Central). It was first read on February 12, 2025.
Leading the debate, Mustapha stressed the urgent need for electoral reforms to make Nigeria’s elections more cost-effective and efficient, citing the rising financial burden of conducting elections. Read more
Tinubu distorting democracy, weaponising judiciary, others – Prof Udenta (Channels)
The founding National Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy, Prof Udenta Udenta, on Thursday, accused the Bola Tinubu Presidency of dismantling democratic values and weaponing the judiciary, and the 1999 Constitution (as amended) against Nigerians.
Prof Udenta, a distinguished fellow of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, said the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State was a distortion of democratic institutions by the Tinubu government.
“The system that should protect democratic governance, you are weaponising them; the judiciary, the apparatus of the state, you are distorting, diluting and transmogrifying them in a way and manner that is shutting down democratic conversations. Read more
Glorilla abruptly ends St. Louis show over crowd violence (HipHopDx)
GloRilla had to cut her recent St. Louis tour stop short after multiple altercations broke out in the crowd throughout the night.
At least three separate times while Glo was performing, she had to stop the show to address the crowd.
“Stop the music again,” she said at one point. “They done started the shit up again! Calm the fuck down, shit! The fuck is the problem? I think y’all came for the wrong show. Y’all supposed to be at WWE. It’s not WWE, guys.” Read more
Sudan’s army has captured the capital. Is it a turning point in the devastating conflict? (CNN)
Sudan’s army says it has wrested control of the capital Khartoum from a feared militia accused of genocide after ousting it from the Presidential Palace and the city’s airport it had held since the start of a brutal two-year conflict.
But while the capture of Khartoum marks an important moment in the conflict, with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) deeply embedded elsewhere in Sudan and attempting to form a parallel government, analysts warn there is little likelihood of a swift resolution to the war.
Since April 2023, two of Sudan’s most powerful generals – Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and former ally Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – have engaged in a bloody feud over control of the country which is split between their strongholds. Read more
Tourist submarine sinks off Egypt’s coast, leaving 6 dead and 9 injured (AfricaNews)
Six people died and nine were injured when a tourist submarine carrying 45 passengers sank off the Egyptian coast Thursday, said provincial officials. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Emergency crews rescued 29 people from the sinking off one of the beaches in the tourist promenade area in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
In addition to crew members, there were 45 passengers on board, all of them Russian and some of them minors, Russian consular officials in Hurghada said. Read more
King Charles briefly hospitalized amid cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace says (ABC)
King Charles III was briefly hospitalized Thursday amid ongoing medical treatment for cancer, according to Buckingham Palace.
Charles’ hospitalization was a result of “temporary side effects” he experienced after undergoing what the palace described as “scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer” on Thursday morning.
After a “short period of observation” in the hospital, the 76-year-old king returned to Clarence House, his royal residence in London, according to the palace. Read more
Canada PM Mark Carney says old relationship with US ‘is over’ (BBC)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada’s old relationship with the United States, “based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over”.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa after a cabinet meeting, Carney said Canadians must “fundamentally reimagine our economy” in the face of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
He said Canada would respond with retaliatory tariffs that will have “maximum impact” on the US. Read more
5 injured and suspect arrested in Amsterdam knife spree (Independent)
Witnesses have described the fear and chaos that gripped the heart of Amsterdam’s tourist district during a stabbing spree that left six people injured, including the suspected attacker.
The knifing attacks unfolded about 3:30pm local time on Thursday near Amsterdam’s central Dam Square.
Police said a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man – both American nationals – were among the victims. A 73-year-old woman from Belgium, a 26-year-old man from Poland and a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam were also injured. Read more
Remo beat Enyimba 2-0, maintain NPFL lead (Punch)
Nigeria Premier Football League leaders Remo Stars held on to their eight-point advantage at the top of the table with a 2-0 win over former champions Enyimba in Ikenne on Thursday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Olamilekan Adedayo and Samson Olasupo scored in either half to secure the 19th win of the season for Daniel Ogunmodede’s side on his return from international duty with the Super Eagles.
Like he did during their last game before the international break, Adedayo opened the scoring for the Ikenne side after 28 minutes while mid-season signing, Olasupo, continued to justify his addition by doubling the advantage in the 68th minute with his third goal of the campaign. Read more
‘Raducanu needs lasting plan to build on Miami progress’ (BBC)
Emma Raducanu is starting to play like it is 2021.
The Briton, who won 10 matches in straight sets to clinch the US Open title, had not been able to win more than three in a row until this week’s Miami Open.
Her run was ended by world number four Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals, but on Monday Raducanu will return to the world’s top 50 for the first time since September 2022. Read more
Matt Stevens, former Super Bowl winner with Patriots, dies at age 51 (CBS)
The New England Patriots announced on Thursday that Matt Stevens, a member of the 2001 Patriots team that won the Super Bowl, passed away last week at the age of 51.
A third-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1996, Stevens played in the NFL for eight seasons. He spent parts of three years with Washington, parts of two each with New England, Houston and Philadelphia and that first year of his career in Buffalo.
He played in 15 of 16 games for the 2001 Pats, totaling 43 tackles, two passes defensed, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He had six tackles during the run to the Super Bowl. Before making it to the NFL, Stevens was a two-time All-American safety at Appalachian State. Read more
Red Bull announces driver switch just 2 races into new season, with Yuki Tsunoda replacing Liam Lawson (CNN)
Red Bull announced on Thursday it is shifting its driver rotation around just two races into the new season.
In a statement on its website, the team announced that Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson as Max Verstappen’s teammate in the Red Bull cars.
The two drivers will swap roles, with Lawson taking Tsunoda’s place in the Racing Bulls car – Racing Bulls is Red Bull’s developmental team. Read more
Chelsea complete comeback against Man City in stunning first half (Independent)
Chelsea produced a stunning first-half performance to overturn Manchester City’s first-leg lead at Stamford Bridge and reach the Women’s Champions League semi-finals for the third season in a row.
Trailing 2-0 from last week’s first leg in Manchester, Chelsea flew out of the blocks in a rampant display under Sonia Bompastor, scoring three times before the break through Sandy Baltimore, Nathalie Bjorn and Mayra Ramirez.It could, and should, have been more but Khiara Keating’s saves kept City in the tie and Vivianne Miedema, who scored both goals in City’s win last week, went close to grabbing an equaliser in the second half with a shot that whistled past the post. Read more