BIGDREAM

A file photo of Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai. Photo: Twitter The Task Force on COVID-19 in Kaduna has expressed concern that the risk assessment of the pandemic is troubling as there could be as high as 57,000 new cases in the state if there is no effective enforcement and implementation of the lockdown order. This concern follows the sixth confirmed COVID-19 case involving a male patient who returned from Lagos state to Kaduna with a commercial vehicle after he tested positive for the deadly disease. The state government has therefore embarked on massive enforcement of the lockdown especially to stop inter state travels till further notice as part of measures to avoid community transmission of the disease. Kaduna State Commissioner For Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan who is leading the operation noted in an interview that it is important for people to observe the lockdown for as long as it is in effect for their own safety. With the pandemic grad

File: US President Donald Trump speaks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in (not shown)in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 11, 2019. Nicholas Kamm / AFP South Korean firms will make their first shipment of coronavirus tests to the United States this week after a request by US President Donald Trump, Yonhap news agency reported Monday. The US has more confirmed COVID-19 cases than anywhere else in the world and also has the highest toll, with more than 22,000 deaths. In contrast South Korea was once the hardest-hit country outside China, but appears to have brought its outbreak under control with a huge “trace, test and treat” strategy. It has tested more than half a million people in a process free to anyone referred by doctors or those who have links to a confirmed case. The Trump administration has been accused of being slow to respond to the outbreak, although the president now regularly re-iterates that the US has tested more individuals

The Police Commissioner in Ogun State, Kenneth Ebrimson, has reacted to the reports of the unrest in some areas of the state which has been trending on social media. Mr. Ebrimson in his response said most of the calls that have been put through to him are a false alarm. He stated this on Monday during a phone conversation on Channels Television breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily. The police commissioner stressed that the unrest is simply caused by cult supremacy battle and the police are making arrests of the cultists. “I think we are dealing with the issue of apprehension. Earlier this month, there was a cult supremacy battle in Ifo. The police rose to the challenge and got some of them arrested. “Thereafter, this snowballed to Agbado, Ijoko, Ota area and we put up a team to go after the cultists and ever since then, we have been making arrests. “People have been calling me, there is no day I don’t receive close to 100 calls. Most of these calls are false alarms.

An empty street in Alausa area of Lagos State Lagos, Nigeria’s epicenter of COVID-19 witnessed a low-key 2020 Easter celebration devoid of regular fun gatherings and outings. Many celebrated Easter at their various homes avoiding social gatherings due to the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown directive by the government. Parks that are usually play ground for children were empty as Elegushi, one of the fun spots have are usually crowded was in total shut down. This left many parks, beaches, malls and eateries in the city empty. The pandemic has caused huge disruption and the effect on recreational business are evident with the emptiness. READ ALSO:  COVID-19: Kaduna Could Record 57,000 New Cases Due To Violation Of Lockdown, Govt Warns A diver at Elegushi beach lamenting over the situation told Channels Television that it will be difficult to control the crowd, hence the need to shutdown the beach. “If we allow people to come in we cant control them for social distance

A file photo of President Muhammadu Buhari at his office in the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Photo: Twitter- @NGRPresident President Muhammadu Buhari will address Nigerians by 7pm on Monday. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, announced this in a statement hours before President Buhari is scheduled to address Nigerians. “Television, radio and other electronic media outlets are enjoined to hook up to the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) respectively for the broadcast,” he said. More to follow…

Two people have been killed, and 17 others have reportedly been hospitalized after they attended a wedding ceremony in Katsina State.  Police say the deaths and complications that led to the hospitalization of 17 others, is as a result of food poisoning. According to the police, the fatalities were recorded after miscreants poisoned the food served at the wedding party which held in Mani Local Government Area of the State. READ ALSO:  Youths Protest Over Killing Of Five People In Kaduna The police also confirmed the arrest of two persons who administered a noxious substance known in local parlance as Zaqami, into the food served to guests at the wedding ceremony. In a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Gambo Isah, the two suspects identified as Musa Suleiman and Shafa’atu Sirajo confessed to committing the offence. SP Gambo noted that investigations are still ongoing as to ascertain who put the suspects to the

A file photo of Naira Marley. Popular artiste, Afeez Fashola also known as Naira Marley has given an undertaking that he will join the Lagos State government’s campaign against the spread of COVID-19 by making a free audio-visual publication. He made the undertaking in a letter dated April 9, and addressed to the Governor of the State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The letter of undertaking was tendered at the Magistrate court today as part of the conditions for the government to withdraw a charge of breaching the social distancing directive made against him. Chief Magistrate Yewande Aje-Afunwa subsequently approved the withdrawal of the charge against the musician. She also approved the withdrawal of the charge against Marley’s co-defendants Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain Babatunde Gbadamosi and his wife, Folasade. On Wednesday, the 8th of April, Magistrate Aje-Afunwa had ordered the three defendants’ to comply with the conditions set by the government and to come back t

Operatives of Ogun State police command have arrested two members of a deadly cult group who assassinated one Kolawole Ajomale a member of Oodua People’s Congress on the 5th of April 2020 in Ijebu-Igbo. The suspects Korede Pariosho and Jide Afolabi were arrested on the 7th of April following an intelligence-based investigation embarked upon by the detectives at Ijebu-Igbo division led by DPO Sp Kazeem Solotan. According to a statement by the state command’s spokesperson, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the duo were arrested at their hideout and the gun they used to kill the victim was also recovered. The hoodlums had on 5th of April 2020 attacked their victim in his house situated at No.20 Odo Balogun Street Oke Sapen, in Ijbeu-Igbo where the deceased was shot in the head and stomach, right before his pregnant wife, consequent upon which the victim died on the spot. Since then, police have been on the trail of the cultists till they were finally apprehended. On interrogation, the

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed 14 new cases of coronavirus in the country. This brings the total number of COVID-19 infections recorded in the country so far to 288. The NCDC confirmed the latest figure – which rose from 276 – in a tweet on Thursday evening. NCDC ✔ @NCDCgov Fourteen new cases of # COVID19 have been reported in Nigeria: 13 in Lagos and 1 in Delta State As at 09:30 pm 9th April there are 288 confirmed cases of # COVID19 reported in Nigeria. Fifty-one have been discharged with seven deaths 6,574 9:30 PM - Apr 9, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy 6,242 people are talking about this NCDC ✔ @NCDCgov  ·  11 h Replying to @NCDCgov As at 09:30 pm 9th April, there are 288 confirmed cases 51 discharged 7 deaths For more info- http:// covid19.ncdc.gov.ng   Lagos- 158 FCT- 54 Osun- 20 Edo- 12 Oyo- 11 Bauchi- 6 Akwa Ibom- 5 Ogun- 4 Kaduna- 5 Enu

The Anap Foundation COVID-19 Think Tank has identified seven items Nigeria urgently needs from the outside world to help it effectively combat the coronavirus pandemic. The Think Tank, which is comprised of 18 members drawn from all the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria and the diaspora (USA & Germany), revealed this in a statement on Thursday. Among some of the items listed include Test kits, Molecular laboratories + skilled personnel, surgical face masks and cloth face coverings, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Others are Respirators and Ventilators, Hydroxychloroquine, Azithromycin and other drugs, and a safety net fund to cater for 40 million unemployed and underemployed people. “Consider deploying final year medical and nursing students, retirees, and unemployed health professionals of all grades,” the Think Thank, which is chaired by the founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Atedo Peterside, said. The intellectual group also urged the country to “accept a

South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers drive in an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) in the Cape Flats area of Cape Town, on March 30, 2020, during a patrol to enforce the 21-day nationwide lockdown in Sout Africa. PIETER BAUERMEISTER / AFP South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday prolonged by a further 14 days a national lockdown aimed at stemming coronavirus, saying the struggle was “far from over” as infections rose to 1,934. “After careful consideration of the available evidence, the national coronavirus command council has decided to extend the nationwide lockdown by a further two weeks beyond the initial 21 days,” Ramaphosa announced in a televised address. The president added that while it was too early to make a “definitive analysis” of the pandemic in South Africa, there was evidence to suggest the measures had been effective. “In the two weeks before the lockdown, the average daily increase in new cases was around 42 percent,” Ramaphosa said

Abayomi said the search will run for two weeks in the first instance across the state. Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi. (Punch) In a bid to detect possible coronavirus cases in Lagos, the state government has commenced house-to-house case identification. This was announced in a statement from the Lagos Ministry of Health on Thursday, April 9, 2020. The state Commissioner for Health,  Prof. Akin Abayomi  was quoted to have said that the search would run for two weeks in the first instance across the state. He said this during a joint ministerial press briefing on COVID19 intervention in Lagos State held on Thursday in Alausa, Ikeja. He said,  “In the coming days, some of our health workers will be moving around in pairs to administer an electronic questionnaire at homes and healthcare facilities to make enquiries about symptoms of cough, cold and fever. “This is in a bid to intensify our search for possible cases of COVID-19 in different c