Eleven persons have been killed while 42 others sustained varying injuries as a bus conveying students from a top Kenyan university collided with a truck on a busy highway after skidding in heavy rain.

The accident occurred at 5:50 pm on Monday, March 18, at Maungu, 360 kilometres from the capital Nairobi, when the students from Kenyatta University were travelling to the coastal town of Mombasa.

Ten people from the Kenyan varsity died on impact and another died later in hospital, police said, adding that 42 people were seriously injured.

“The driver of (the) university bus was overtaking a fleet of motor vehicles and as it was raining heavily, the bus skidded to the right side of the road,” the police report said.

This “prompted the driver of the truck to avoid head on collision, hence hitting the left side of the university bus,” it added.

The bus was carrying 58 people on an academic trip.

The injured were taken to a hospital in the nearby town of Voi, the Kenyan Red Cross said on X, formerly Twitter.

Kenyatta University said on Tuesday it was “deeply saddened” by the accident and had set up a help desk at the main campus to provide “assistance during this challenging time”.

“Some of the injured students are in the process of assessment for possible evacuation to Nairobi,” it said.

Controversial Islamic scholar, Ahmad Gumi has made an allegation against security agencies.

He claimed that security agents know the hideouts of bandits.

Gumi said security agents who accompanied him during negotiations knew the hideouts of the bandits in the Northern part of the country.

Speaking with Nigeria Info FM, on security agencies not knowing the hideout of bandits, the cleric said: “I don’t think they (security agents) are truthful with you. When I go, I go with them; I don’t go alone.”

On the identities of the bandits, Gumi said they are mainly herdsmen, who are largely Nigerians with few foreigners.

The cleric also emphasized the necessity of negotiation with the perpetrators behind the recent abduction of approximately 287 students from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in the Chikun Local Government Area, Kaduna State.

He proposed that negotiation could lead to a safe return of the captives without necessarily involving financial transactions, hinting at potential prisoner swaps.

Gumi portrayed the bandits as marginalized citizens deprived of basic social services like education, infrastructure, and water.

The suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, Prof Cyril Ndifon has made a claim against the lawyer representing the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC.

Ndifon claimed that ICPC lawyer is not registered to practice in Nigeria.

He told the Federal High Court, Abuja, that this contravened Section 2 of the Legal Practitioners Act which states that a practicing lawyer’s name must be contained on the roll of legal practitioners in the country.

Recall that the professor is currently standing trial on amended four counts of alleged sexual harassment and gratification.

Also joined in the matter is his lawyer, Sunny Anyanwu, who was alleged to have harassed ICPC’s star witness, urging her to shun the ICPC’s invitation.

Dr. Osuobeni Akponimisingha has been appearing in court for the ICPC alongside Joshua Alobo.

In a motion on notice filed on behalf of the suspended Dean by their lawyer, Joe Agi, they urged the court to acquit them of the sexual harassment and cybercrime charges filed against them by the ICPC.

The motion on notice partly read, “The amended charge in this case is incompetent and preferred by a person whose name is not on the roll of legal practitioners in Nigeria under Section 2 of the Legal Practitioners Act and thus robbing this court of its jurisdiction.

“The amended charge was preferred by one Dr Osuobeni Ekoi Akponimisingha, a person whose name is not on the roll of legal practitioners in Nigeria under Section 2 of the Legal Practitioners Act.”

The defendants also urged the court to refer the two prosecution counsel to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee.

“We hereby seek an order of court striking out the amended charge, in this case, same being incompetent and preferred by a person whose name is not on the roll of legal practitioners in Nigeria under Section 2 of the Legal Practitioners Act and thus robbing this court of its jurisdiction.

“An order of court striking out all the appearance of Joshua E. Alobo from the prosecution counsel for appearing as a private legal practitioner in a criminal case without the fiat of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation.

“An order of court referring both Osuobeni Ekoi Akponimisingha and Joshua E. Alobo to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for answering and caused to printed on their processes the title ‘Dr.’ ‘Professor’ when they do not have the academic qualifications to show for the titles thereby misrepresenting themselves to the public and bringing legal profession to ridicule and shame.”

Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL has made a promise to Nigerians.

He stated that the refinery in Kaduna State will be ready for production by December 2024.

He disclosed this during a meeting with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria in Abuja.

He disclosed that operations at the Port Harcourt refinery are scheduled to begin in two weeks.

According to Kyari: “We did a mechanical completion of the (Port Harcourt) refinery, that was what we said in December. We now have crude oil already stocked in the refinery. We are doing regulatory compliance tests that must happen in every refinery before you start it, and I assure you that this Port Harcourt refinery will start in the next two weeks.

“Completing the mechanical work means that you are done with the rehabilitation work, now you have to test to see how it works. Of course, we have also completed the mechanical work on the Warri refinery.

“It is also undergoing regulatory compliance; processes that we are doing with our regulator, and this will soon be completed and it will be ready.

“The Kaduna refinery will be ready by December. We have not reached that stage in Kaduna, but we promise Kaduna will be delivered by December.”

Afe Babalola (SAN), the founder of Afe Babalola University, has said that indigenes of Ekiti state are facing hardship because all former Governors failed to implement the blueprint for the state.

According to him, the plan was for Ekiti to be the best state in Nigeria but it failed.

Speaking at the commissioning of ABUAD Multi-System Hospital, Annex Odo-Ado, at Igirigiri road in Ado Ekiti, Babalola commended Governor Biodun Oyebanji for his recent strides, adding that the vision behind the creation of Ekiti was to make it the best state in Nigeria.

He said;

“It pains me that you didn’t become governor of Ekiti much earlier than now. We know what we did to bring Ekiti State into existence. Our vision was for Ekiti to be the best state in Nigeria, that will be setting the pace as my university is setting the pace now.

“Unfortunately those who became governor before you didn’t have the love of Ekiti. Go and tell them that I said so. That is why we are facing so much hardship in the state. When I was a local government councilor in the sixties, I didn’t receive a salary.

“That was when there was development in Ekiti Local Government. We thought that those who are coming to govern Ekiti will follow our footstep and our blueprints but they refuse to follow it. However, this governor is doing a yeoman’s job.”

President Bola Tinubu has been issued a warning by the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The party says Tinubu will struggle to get two per cent votes in the 2027 presidential election in the capital if he fails to stop the minister, Nyesom Wike from killing the party.

The party leaders stated this at a press conference in Abuja, lamenting the disregard of APC members in recent appointments made by Wike.

They also said the party may lose the next Area Councils election if the situation remains unchanged, claiming that the minister is killing the political structure of the APC in FCT due to his lack of regard for the party and its leadership.

The APC chieftains, led by convener, Comrade Abdulwahab Ekekhide, and co-convener, David Omobolaji Obaje, said the minister, since assuming office, has refused to sit with the leadership of the party, even though the party has written him a series of letters for him to grant them audience, but all to no avail.

Recall that Wike, a PDP member, was appointed FCT minister by President Tinubu, the leader of the APC.

Ekekhide, however, said the leadership and entire members of the APC family in the FCT, in unison, reject “in very strong terms the continuous lopsided appointments, abandonment and total disregard for the APC in FCT by the minister.”

“We call on Mr. President, who is the Governor-General to call the Minister to order, so that he can retrace his steps and start empowering the party or else, the party will struggle to get 2% for the President in the 2027 Presidential election and may lose the next Area Councils election if the situation remains this way.

“As we all know, the President is the Governor-General of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), but delegates his powers to a Minister, and today Barr. Nyesom Wike is standing in for the President as Hon. Minister of the FCT,” he added.

Clerics have advised the federal government and National Assembly not to succumb to the pressure of legalising gay marriage in Nigeria.

They spoke at the 16th edition of St. Patrick Archdiocesan Feast Day celebration and cultural fiesta and launching of N70 million for community bus, organised by St. Patrick Edo/Delta Catholic Community, Holy Rosary Parish, Wuse-Abuja.

Addressing newsmen at the event, Bishop of Uromi Diocese, Donatus Ogun, said homosexuality was against God’s plan of creation.

He said: “Naturally, homosexuality is contrary to the divine plan. Homosexuality for many reasons opposes God’s plan because it doesn’t lead to procreation.

“When God created man and woman, he said be fruitful and multiply. To multiply is one of the vocations of the human person. The supposed orientation of people going after the same sex, is not part of God’s plan.

“I think personally we are managing a crisis of global economy, those who call themselves the bigger economies, are trying to manipulate the poorer nations.”

Nigeria’s Under-20 female football team, the Falconets, will take on Ghana on Thursday in the final of the women’s football event at the 13th African Games in Ghana.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Falconets booked their place in the finals after defeating Uganda 2-0 in the match played at the Cape Coast Stadium on Monday in the first semi-final.

Ghana also defeated the Teranga Lionesses of Senegal 3-1 to book a place in the final.

The final between Nigeria and hosts Ghana will hold at the Cape Coast Stadium on Thursday at 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, Uganda will face Senegal to fight for the bronze medal in the event, which will hold at Cape Coast Stadium on the same day (Thursday) by 5 p.m.

NAN reports that Falconets won the gold medal in the event at the 12th African Games in Rabat, Morocco, in 2019.

The 13th African Games, which started on March 8, will end on March 23. The ongoing games are being held across three cities: Accra, Kumasi, and Cape Coast. (NAN)

The Edo State House of Assembly has directed the state Chief Judge, Justice Daniel Okungbowa to set up a seven man panel to investigate the allegations levelled against the state deputy governor Ry Philip Shaibu.

The state assembly is accusing the deputy governor of misconduct and divulging governments information to the public.

The panel is expected to carry out a thorough investigation into the allegations and make necessary recommendations.

The brief sitting was presided over by the Speaker, RT Hon Blessing Agbebaku.

Recall that the Edo State House of Assembly, earlier this month, began an impeachment move against Shaibu, accusing him of constitutional infractions.

But, Shaibu, denied being served with impeachment notice from the state House of Assembly as claimed by the Speaker, Hon. Blessing Agbebaku during plenary.

The inability of the House, according to the Speaker, to physically serve Shaibu led to a substituted service through advertorial in the newspaper.

Meanwhile, in a letter addressed to the Speaker dated March 12, 2024 and titled “RE: Service of Impeachment Notice,” signed by the Personal Assistant to the Deputy Governor, Charles Olubayo, Shaibu denied ever being served any letter and refusing to collect same.

He said Shaibu has been out of the state since March 3 and therefore could not have been served as claimed during plenary.

His supporters, however, believe that he is being persecuted because he is interested to succeed his boss in office, Gov Godwin Obaseki.

Shaibu emerged as the governorship candidate in a parallel primary election held on February 22, 2024.

A Nigerian man, Steven Opeyemi Moses, has cried out after a DNA test revealed that he is not the biological father of a child with an SS genotype, which his wife had claimed was his.

Moses had appeared on a Nigerian-based TV courtroom show last year to present the matter.

He revealed on the show that his wife gave birth one year after marriage, only to discover that while he was AA, his wife, who was AS, had an SS-carrier son. During the hearing, the judge reportedly ordered a DNA test to be carried out, and the DNA analysis revealed a 0% probability of paternity, indicating a negative result.

Following a clip shared by an X user, Moses provided an update revealing that his ‘wife’ has since refused to undergo a maternity test.

He made this known in a series of posts on his X account (@SteveMosoes) on Monday.

He wrote: “I am still in awe of how we got here. We got married precisely on May 21, 2016. A year down the line she got pregnant and gave birth on her birthday November 8, 2018. The first crisis the body had we spent thousands in hospital and that’s when we first discovered he was SS.

“At this point I was confused. She first told me it was the enemy that was doing us through the boy. I didn’t believe and at the same time I didn’t argue with her. I started making my research if it was possible for AA + AS to produce SS.”

“I saw some rare occasions of extreme weather conditions but it wasn’t possible in Nigeria as a result of good weather. I spoke to few councillors and midwives in Ifako General Hospital and Lagos State teaching Hospital.

“We kept on living together, & we kept praying & fasting and nothing change. The boy kept on going through crisis. At this point we were already out of cash and could not afford a DNA test because I was already uncomfortable, having confirmed from many sources that it was impossible.

“For me to produce SS even when I marry SS as a AA. So I started voicing my displeasure out to my friends and one of them pointed me to Justice Court that they will do the DNA test for free. So I contacted them and arranged a sample for me and the boy for Paternity test.

“Paternity test results came out in December, and we had a court session where it was unveiled as seen in the video. Since December, she has been dulging and refusing to pick calls from Justice Court to carry out the Judge verdict to run a maternity test.

“So as I write this story, Justice Court has not been able to reach her over the phone. She is not picking calls. One funny thing in all this is, in November last year. Her family got me arrested from Ajuwon Police Station because I was not dropping upkeep for the said child.

“It took intervention of our family lawyer to get the case out of police station. I remember the police were supporting her. In December, DNA results came out and it was negative. The need to clear herself arises and she went into isolation.”

He also dismissed the possibility of a ‘child-swap’ at the hospital.

“The above video shows the last part that says ‘Is the child swap in hospital?’ It may be possible, but the chances are slim. I was present in the labour room and there were only two woman in labour that day. It wasn’t a hospital; it was Ojodu Health Center at Gbadamosi, Ojodu.

“The other woman already gave birth while she was in labour. I remember following the nurse to clean him up & collected him back. I dropped him beside her on the bed waited for her sister to come and then I left to cook something for her. Honestly, this marriage wrecked me.”