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NUHU Clark, a member-elect for Chibok constituency in the Borno House of Assembly, is dead. According to reports, the deceased died in India on Monday, while undergoing treatment. Babakura Abbajatau, The state Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information, and Culture, confirmed the development in an interview with NAN in Maiduguri on Wednesday. Abbajatau said that the state government would soon make an official statement after speaking with the family of the deceased. While mourning the deceased, the Borno Deputy Governor, Umar Kadafur, described the death as a huge loss to his immediate family, people of Southern Borno and the state at…

THE potential sale of Manchester United has gone to a third round of bidding. Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim and Ineos owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe both submitted a second bid to buy the Old Trafford club last month, with Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus also saying he had submitted a bid. The Glazer family, who bought the club for £790m in 2005, announced they were considering selling in November. The Americans have established a valuation of £5bn-6bn for United. The second stage ended last month with uncertainty over whether the process had reached the point of exclusivity being granted. It is understood…

LIVERPOOL will not pursue a move for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham this summer because of the money involved. The 19-year-old has been heavily linked with the Reds but any move for the England international could cost in excess of £100m at least. The size of the deal compared to the changes needed at Liverpool mean they do not consider it a viable option. The Reds are eighth in the Premier League and 12 points off the top four. Their struggles this season have seen manager Jurgen Klopp state there will be changes at the club in the summer and…

FORMER US president Donald Trump, having been criminally charged in New York, pledged Tuesday to “never drop out” of the 2024 race for the White House, and insisted Joe Biden is not fit to run again. The Republican real estate magnate, facing 34 felony counts in New York over alleged hush money paid to an adult film actress, told Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson that nothing would prevent him from running — even a conviction. “I’d never drop out,” he said. “It’s not my thing. I wouldn’t do it.” Trump, 76, in his first major interview since being arrested and…

TWITTER boss Elon Musk said running the social media network has been “quite a rollercoaster” and acknowledged “many mistakes” along the way, six months after he bought the company for $44 billion. In a live interview with the BBC after agreeing to a last-minute invitation for the “spontaneity” of it, Musk appeared to tacitly acknowledge that one of those errors was the decision to label the broadcaster’s account “government-funded media”. He said he would change the designation on the BBC’s Twitter handle after the broadcaster objected. “We want it as truthful and accurate as possible –- we’re adjusting the label…

CHAD’s ambassador to Germany has been expelled in a retaliatory move by Berlin after the Central African nation kicked out the European nation’s ambassador last week. Germany’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said Chad’s Mariam Ali Moussa has to leave the country within 48 hours. “We regret that it had to come to this,” Germany’s foreign ministry said on Twitter. German ambassador to Chad Jan-Christian Gordon Kricke left the country last Saturday after the military government expelled him. Chad ordered Mr Kricke out of the country for what it said was due to his “impolite attitude” and “lack of respect for…

AN Egyptian official has described as “utterly baseless” allegations in leaked Pentagon documents that Cairo planned to secretly produce and supply Russia with 40,000 missiles. The denial, by an unnamed source, has been carried by several pro-government news channels. The documents were obtained by the Washington Post from a leaked trove of US defence department papers. As part of the denial, the official was quoted as saying Cairo did not take sides in the Ukraine war. The Kremlin described the allegations as “just another canard”.

Man City 3 v Bayern 0 MANCHESTER City took a giant stride towards the Champions League semi-finals with an outstanding performance to overpower Bayern Munich at Etihad Stadium. Erling Haaland, inevitably, was on target with his 45th goal of the season to make him the highest scorer in all competitions in a single campaign since the Premier League began 30 years ago, surpassing Mohamed Salah and Ruud van Nistelrooy. City, however, gave a powerful all-round team display and Bayern, under new coach Thomas Tuchel, face a mountainous task to turn this quarter-final around in the second leg at the AllianzArena.…

THE House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Oil Theft is inviting several high-ranking officials in the Federal Government over its investigation into the alleged loss of over $2.4 billion in revenue from illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil export in 2015. Some of the officials invited on Tuesday to answer questions are the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed; and the Secretary General of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, News Point Nigeria reports. Also summoned are the acting Accountant General of the Federation, Sylva Okolieaboh; and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), among others. The committee is…

ZAMBIAN side Zanaco FC have sacked Emmanuel Amuneke, with just six games left to the end of the season. “The Board of Directors and Management of Zanaco Football Club wishes to announce that the Club has separated with the Consultant Coach Mr. Emmanuel Amuncke and the Assistant Coach Mr. Emeka Amadi with immediate effect,” the club’s Chief Executive Officer Modest Hamalabbi said in a late Monday statement “The Club has also separated with the Head Coach, Mr. Kelvin Kaindu.” They thanked the coaches for their services and wished them well in their future endeavours. Following the development, Zanaco appointed Wedson…

BAYERN Munich manager Thomas Tuchel admits he is having sleepless nights before his side’s Champions League meeting with Manchester City. Tuchel returns to England for the first time since he was sacked by Chelsea in September when City host the quarter-final first leg on Tuesday (20:00 BST). In 10 previous meetings, Tuchel has only beaten a side managed by Pep Guardiola on three occasions. “I will try to go to bed early. I hope I will be able to sleep,” he said. “The best preparation is sleep but sometimes it is hard to get that sleep when you’re thinking about…

FIVE people died when an employee opened fire at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, and livestreamed the attack on Instagram, police say. The victims were aged between 40 and 64. Among nine others injured was a rookie police officer who had graduated to the force just two weeks ago. The officer was shot in the head and is still critical after brain surgery. Police responded within three minutes, and fatally shot the attacker in an exchange of gunfire. The shooting took place at the Old National Bank in the city centre at about 08:30 local time (12:30 GMT). Caleb Goodlett…

THE US and the Philippines are holding their largest-ever joint military drills a day after China concluded large-scale exercises around Taiwan. Over three days, China’s military rehearsed blockades of Taiwan in response to the island’s leader meeting the US House Speaker last week. Washington criticised China’s display of firepower as disproportionate, while Taiwan President Tsai said it was “irresponsible” and she had the right to make visits to the US. The US drills had been earlier planned. Filipino and US officials say the drills show their commitment to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region that is open and free.…

SUDANESE civilian groups and the ruling junta have missed Tuesday’s deadline to form a civilian-led transitional government amid disagreements on security reforms and other issues. According to a timeline set up by the parties, a new prime minister would have been announced on Tuesday as well as other officials of a civilian-led government. The deadline lapsed after the parties failed to sign a final transition deal on 1 and 6 April over disagreements on the integration of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the army. A joint committee from the military and RSF, which was set up to discuss…

ELON Musk’s SpaceX company has delayed the launch of Kenya’s first earth observation satellite by 24 hours citing unfavourable weather conditions at the launch base in California. The satellite named Nation- 1, or Taifa -1 in Swahili, was to be deployed aboard a Falcon 9 rocket alongside other satellites from other countries. A statement from the Kenya Space Agency said the delay was due to “unfavourable upper-level wind conditions” that would “affect the rocket’s flight trajectory”. The launch is now expected to take place on Wednesday 12 April at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The main mission of the satellite will…

GUNMEN shot a policeman to death on Friday in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, police confirmed on Monday. It was further gathered that the assailants escaped with the rifle of the slain policeman. The police spokesman in Lagos State, SP Benjamin Hundeyin told our source that three other police operatives were seriously injured in the attack. Operatives of the Imota Police Division in the Ikorodu area were on patrol duty when they came under the assailants’ attack at Emuren Junction, on Itokin Road in the area. Local sources said the assailants, suspected errand boys of land grabbers, ambushed the…

REFEREEING body PGMOL will investigate after Liverpool’s Andy Robertson appeared to be elbowed in the chin by assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis. Robertson approached the official angrily at the end of the first half against Arsenal and appeared to shove him as he passed, with Hatzidakis raising an elbow which hit Robertson. The Scot reacted furiously and, along with several team-mates, approached referee Paul Tierney, who booked 29-year-old Robertson. The Anfield game ended 2-2 with Liverpool coming from 2-0 down to draw with the league leaders. Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton was watching the game for BBC Radio 5 Live…

BARCELONA coach Xavi Hernandez believes if Real Madrid have given up on La Liga, it is because of his side’s superb season, he told a news conference Sunday. “Tomorrow it’s important to increase the gap to 15 points. It won’t mean anything is sealed, but it would be a spectacular distance. “It doesn’t interest me if Madrid do something or don’t, what interests me is what we do.” Madrid are in the Copa del Rey final and face Chelsea on Wednesday in a Champions League quarter-final first leg clash. Xavi said he thinks Barcelona winning the top flight for the…

TWO bodies have been found after an explosion flattened a four-storey apartment building in the southern French city of Marseille. Local authorities said six people remained unaccounted for and that rescue efforts were ongoing. The blast occurred in the La Plaine neighbourhood at 00:49 local time on Sunday (23:49 BST on Saturday). The cause remains unclear, but investigators are looking into the possibility of a gas leak. Five people from neighbouring buildings sustained minor injuries in the explosion and around 200 people had to be evacuated from their homes. Two nearby blocks partially collapsed a few hours later without causing…

SAUDI and Omani delegations have held talks with Houthi officials in the Yemeni capital Sanaa as part of international efforts to find a settlement to Yemen’s nine-year conflict, Houthi-run media reported. The visit indicates progress in the Oman-mediated consultations between Riyadh and Sanaa, which run parallel to United Nations peace efforts. Negotiations also gained momentum since archrivals Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to re-establish ties in a deal brokered by China. The envoys, who landed late on Saturday, met with the head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, for talks on ending hostilities and lifting a Saudi-led “blockade”…