Tuesday
Gunmen kidnap army captain, three others in Ondo, demand N20 million ransom
An Army Captain has been abducted by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers along Auga/Akunnu highway in Akoko North-East Local Government of Ondo State. The Army Captain identified as D. Gana was abducted alongside three others. It was gathered that the kidnapped captain was on transit through the state from Abuja when the gunmen struck. The Auga/Akunnu highway in Akoko North-East Local Government Area of the state has been one of the flashpoints of kidnapping activities within the northern senatorial district of the state. Suspected herdsmen had been linked to most highway crimes perpetrated in the area. The hoodlums were said to have stopped the vehicles on the highway and dragged them into the bush, leaving the vehicle on the road. According to a source, the hoodlums did not pick any item f...
House of Reps order release of Benue coronavirus index case
The House of Representatives has resolved to come to the rescue of Benue State’s coronavirus index case, Susan Idoko, who has accused the government of refusing to release her from isolation despite “not” being infected with the disease. The action of the House followed the unanimous adoption of a motion moved by a member, Blessing Onuh, at plenary on Tuesday. It was entitled, ‘Urgent Need to Look into the Release of Mrs Susan Idoko Okpe, Nee Lawani, Who was Quarantined by the Government Following Misinformation and Diagnosis.’ Adopting the motion, the House resolved to “mandate the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, through the Federal Ministry of Health, to critically evaluate her as a matter of urgency and if proved otherwise, should be allowed to go home.” The parliament also tasked t...
Scores flee as bandits sack Niger communities
File Photo Bandits on Tuesday sacked three communities in the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State. It was learnt that Galkogo, Farindoki and Rafin seyin communities, made up of about 1,500 people, were forced to abandon their homes as a result of the attack. A source close to one of the affected communities said it began about 12 noon. It was gathered the bandits, numbering about 60, blocked all the entry routes into the communities to prevent the people from escaping. “It is possible the bandits just wanted to show force and at the same time disrupt movement today, being our major market day in Zumba town. “Nobody could go to market today from these three communities because they blocked every road in and out as people scampered to safety, all the vehicles that were heading to Zu...
Nigeria’s coronavirus deaths jump to 158
Nigeria has recorded 158 Coronavirus deaths, with Lagos and Kano topping the chat. According to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, on Tuesday, Lagos and Kano both have 33 coronavirus deaths each. Borno recorded 16 deaths while Sokoto rakes in 13 deaths from the deadly pandemic. Katsina ramps up 11 deaths, while FCT has seven and Ogun and Zamfara have five deaths each. Others are: Edo and Osun, four deaths; Bauchi, Kaduna, Kebbi, Rivers and Delta recorded three deaths respectively; Jigawa, Oyo, Akwa Ibom recorded three cases each, while Gombe, Kwara, Nasarawa, Yobe, Ondo and Ekiti have recorded one case each. Get more stories like this on Twitter
Rivers PDP expels wanted youth leader
File Photo Ahead of Tuesday’s inauguration of new Rivers State Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party has expelled its Eleme Local Government Area (LGA) Youth Leader, Princewill Osaroejiji, who is wanted for alleged role in demolished Prodest Hotel’s saga. The development comes as elder statesman and PDP stalwart, Prince Emma Anyanwu chided leader of the Movement for Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Ralph Uwazuruike, over “hate” comments against Governor Nyesom Wike. A statement by Felix Obuah, outgoing Chairman of Rivers PDP, noted that Osaroejiji of Eleme Alode Ward 2 of the party was being expelled for “insubordination, flagrant rascality, disobedience to directives of the State Government on COVID-19 and acts of criminality.” Obuah furt...
Seven travellers arrested in Kwara for ‘violating lockdown order’
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Kwara has arrested seven persons for allegedly violating the lockdown order put in place in the state to check the spread of coronavirus. The command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Ayeni Olasunkanmi, made this known in a statement in Ilorin on Tuesday. “In a swift response to a distress call from the public on Sobi FM radio yesterday, our personnel were immediately deployed to the scene at the expressway, Shao junction, Moro Local Government Area of Kwara. “A trailer fully loaded with passengers was held by the community with the view of preventing the spread of coronavirus,” Olasunkanmi said. He said that before the arrival of NSCDC personnel in the community, the trailer driver had escaped with the vehicle while seven out of the pas...
Nigerian government warns against recycling of face masks
The Federal Government has warned Nigerians against the continued resort to recycling and sharing of face masks in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, saying such actions would only fuel more infections. The government equally tasked state governments on the need to align their policies with those at the federal level, reminding them that the virus does not respect boundaries or status. It also added that the recent rapid diagnostic test kits procured by the Kogi State Government have a high margin of error and are therefore unreliable. These were disclosed on Tuesday in Abuja during the daily briefing of the Presidential Taskforce PTF on Covid-19. Chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapha, said except for fabric masks, every disposable mas...
Lagos university inaugurates financial sustainability committee
Lagos State University (LASU) has inaugurated a 21-man Financial Sustainability Committee to evolve strategies to create revenue sources and guarantee the financial sustainability of the institution after the coronavirus pandemic. Inaugurating the committee at a virtual meeting on Tuesday in Lagos, LASU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, said the step became imperative in the light of financial challenges that were envisaged in the wake of, and aftermath of the pandemic. “As a management, we do recognise that our institution, like almost every other institution around the world, are already facing and will face serious financial challenges. “A lot will depend on how institutions chose to manage their affairs that is why the management of LASU felt the need to put in place strategi...
Gunmen attack Afghan hospital, kill two babies, 11 others
Thirteen people, including two babies, were killed on Tuesday when gunmen stormed a maternity hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul, an interior ministry spokesman said. “The fatalities also include mothers and nurses,” spokesman Tareq Arian said. Three gunmen held siege the Barchi National Hospital in Kabul for hours after the early-morning attack before security forces killed them in a clearance operation, the interior ministry said. Heavily armed security forces were seen carrying infants away from the scene — at least one wrapped in a blood-soaked blanket. “The fatalities also include mothers and nurses,” interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said. Some 15 people were wounded and more than 100 — including three foreign nationals — were rescued, he said. The hospital is located in the ...
Toyota predicts 79.5% drop in profit
Agence France-Presse Toyota on Tuesday said it expected a 79.5 percent drop in its annual operating profit this fiscal year as it suffers “significant” fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The Japanese auto giant declined to give a net profit forecast for the fiscal year to March 2021 but noted that the impact of the crisis on its business was “wide-ranging, significant and serious”. The company now expects an annual operating profit of 500 billion yen ($4.6 billion), down 79.5 percent from the 2.44 trillion yen logged in the past year to March. Toyota forecast a near-20 percent drop in annual sales to 24 trillion yen, compared with 29.93 trillion yen achieved in the past fiscal year. The company’s net profit for the past year to March came to 2.076 trillion yen, up 10.3 percent on the y...
Ekiti discharges five patients, expands isolation centre
Ekiti State Government on Monday disclosed that five patients of the deadly coronavirus pandemic have been discharged from the Isolation Centre in Ekiti on Monday. This is just as the government revealed it’s a plan to expand the Isolation Centre to 100-bed space capacity for more preparation on the Pandemic. Governor Kayode Fayemi had on Saturday evening broke the news on his Twitter handle that the state recorded new three cases. According to the tweet from the Governor, “We got information from NCDC tonight that three more persons tested positive to COVID-19 virus. Two are contacts of the medical doctor still in our care and another person who sneaked into the state before he was quarantined. This underscores the need for extra vigilance. ” With the development so far, Ekiti has 15 conf...
La Liga congratulates Bundesliga ahead football league return
The Spanish La Liga has congratulated Germany’s Bundesliga for announcing its imminent return as Spain’s top-flight stepped up its own comeback preparations. The Bundesliga was given the green light to resume later this month when chancellor Angela Merkel made the announcement during a news conference on Wednesday. Strict testing and matchday procedures will be put in place by the German government, with football seemingly set to resume on May 15 having been paused in mid-March. LaLiga outlined its own plan for a staggered return to training on Monday, with teams set to begin individual work this week before gradually moving to group sessions, the ultimate aim being to re-commence the 2019-20 season in June. Spanish clubs began testing players for COVID-19 on Tuesday and LaLiga sees the Bu...
