Good Day! Below is a Summary of News Stories Across Nigeria and Abroad:
1. Security operatives have rescued two workers of the United States Consulate Lagos, abducted in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra on May 16. DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, Anambra Police Command Spokesman, said in a statement issued in Awka on Friday that the two were rescued early Friday unhurt by joint security forces. Recall that gunmen ambushed the convoy of the consulate officials on Tuesday, killed seven including police personnel, and abducted two. The bodies of those killed were also set ablaze by the gunmen along Atani-Osamala road in Anambra. VANGUARD
2. The Managing Director of Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), Alhaji Abubakar Yelwa, has said that the Federal Government needed about $20 billion to dredge River Niger, River Benue, and River Kaduna. According to him, the motives behind the dredging during the rainy season was to check perennial flooding in areas close the Rivers. Yelwa, who stated this during the 2023 stakeholders meeting on flood mitigation and other related issues, noted that the clamour by Nigerians for the dredging of the affected rivers would be difficult for the Federal Government to handle without intervention from international donor agencies. LEADERSHIP
3. More than 100 people in central Nigeria have died in several days of intercommunal violence that have destroyed hundreds of homes and caused thousands to flee, local officials said on Friday. The clashes between cattle herders and farming communities in Plateau State are the worst in years in a region that has long struggled with ethnic and religious tensions and reprisal attacks. The death toll from attacks by gunmen on farming villages in and around the district of Mangu since the start of the week has passed the 100 mark, after earlier reports said 85 people were killed, a local official said. Plateau state security forces had said on Thursday that calm had been restored, but local sources said several villages were still struggling with violence and residents were fleeing. CHANNELS
4. Tanko Yunusa, the chief spokesperson of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has said that the Federal High Court judgement nullifying the candidature of Alex Otti, the Governor-elect of Abia State, will not stand. Yunusa, speaking exclusively to newsmen on Friday, explained that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the electoral matter. Details emerged on Friday that a Federal High Court sitting in Kano nullified Otti’s candidacy and all the candidates of the Labour Party in Abia and Kano States because their emergence was not in compliance with the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act. DAILY POST
5. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in Saudi Arabia, host of the Arab League Summit. This marks his first visit to the Middle East since Moscow’s invasion in February 2022, giving the Ukrainian leader an opportunity to address leaders in the region that has been far less united in its support of Kyiv than staunch Western allies. Also in attendance is long-isolated Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a close Russian ally. Zelensky said on Twitter, “Arrived in Saudi Arabia. I will speak at the Arab League summit.” He stated that he plans to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other leaders. He arrived in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah one day after Assad, whose government is being readmitted to the Arab League after its suspension in 2011 over the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators that led to civil war. PUNCH
6. The family of the late Nollywood actor, Saint Obi, has put a statement following Zik Zulu Okafor’s allegations. Days after news of the actor’s death broke, Okafor, who describes himself as a close friend of the deceased actor, wrote an article that cast Obi’s wife and extended family in a negative light. He claimed that the actor endured constant harassment from his wife’s siblings, which eventually led to the dissolution of their marriage and a decline in Obi’s health. Speaking for the Nwafor Family, Ugoeze Edith Chinyere Obichuku, and Freda Nwachukwu wrote, “Our attention has been drawn to the publication by one Mr. Zik Zulu Okafor concerning the death of our son, Mr. Obinna Nwafor, popularly known as Saint Obi, and the accompanying negative commentary in social and other media portraying his widow in an unfair and most defamatory manner. This is in no way, shape or form an accurate portrayal of the Lynda that we know and relate with.” They added that the insensitive and false allegations were made without any input from the family. PULSE
7. A team of Saudi surgeons, on Thursday, successfully separated Nigerian conjoined twins Hassana and Hassina after a 14-hour operation in Riyadh. The specialist surgical team earlier announced the twins were in a stable condition at King Abdullah Specialist Hospital for Children in King Abdulaziz Medical City. The twins, Hassana and Hassina, who were born in Kaduna on January 12 last year, shared an abdomen, pelvis, liver, intestines, and urinary and reproductive systems. The 85-member multidisciplinary team, which includes 35 medical and surgical specialists as well as nursing and technical staff, is led by Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, an advisor to the Saudi Royal Court and supervisor-general of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre. VANGUARD
8. The Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) in collaboration with the Sports-For -All Commission will organise the 2023 edition of the Olympic Day celebration on Saturday, June 24, 2023, in Nigeria. All States are expected to organise the event in their States. “Let’s move,’’ is an Olympic initiative to encourage the world to move beginning on June 23. The objective of Olympic Day is to create a Global Movement that inspires people to make time for daily physical activity. The event is an ideal platform to highlight the benefits of physical activity which allows people to learn about Olympic values and to put them into practice in their everyday life. Engaging in exercises promotes health and fitness for individuals. Jogging and walking burn calories, tone muscles shape your body and help de-stress your mind. LEADERSHIP
9. The spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has said the force will probe the officer seen opening a car door for singer Spyro in a viral video. Spyro shared a video of a policeman opening a car door for him on his Twitter handle recently. The video sparked uproar, with many condemning the act of the armed police officer in uniform. Reacting to the video, Adejobi said it would be sent to the relevant units to fish out the police officer. Adejobi described his action as “unprofessional and ridiculous.” He said the force would stop such deployments/attachments immediately. DAILY POST
10. Nigeria’s Flying Eagles have had their first training session in the city of Mendoza, Argentina after arriving on Wednesday evening, before their opening match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup against the Dominican Republic on Sunday. The team, led by head coach, Ladan Bosso, touched down at the Aero Puerto International Airport, Mendoza and was received by NFF’s Head of International Competitions, Dayo Enebi, and officials of the Local Organising Committee of the championship. The Nigeria Football Federation had set up a pre-World Cup training camp for the Flying Eagles in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina, where the team defeated an Argentine second division team, Almirante, and battled out a 3-3 draw with fellow World Cup finalists Colombia in friendlies. PUNCH
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