Actor Idris Elba has announced that he has tested positive for Covid-19.
The star of Luther and The Wire said on Twitter “I feel okay”, and does not have any symptoms.
Elba, 47, said he has been isolated since finding out he was exposed to the virus. “Stay home people and be pragmatic,” he said. “I will keep you updated on how I’m doing. No panic.”
Elba, who posted a video also featuring his wife Sabrina Dhowre, said she has not been tested and is “doing okay”.
Elba said he got tested after finding out on Friday that he had been in contact with someone who had the virus. “This is serious,” he said. “Now is the time to really think about social distancing, washing your hands.”
Elba told fans to remain “really vigilant”. He added: “Transparency is probably the best thing for this right now. If you’re feeling ill, or you feel like you should be tested, or if you’ve been exposed, do something about it.”
The actor was one of the attendees of the Wembley Arena We Day event on 4 March alongside Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, the wife of the Canadian prime minister who has also since tested positive for the virus.
Wendell Pierce, who starred alongside Elba in The Wire, sent a get well soon message on Twitter. He said: “The entire cast of The Wire wishes our brother Idris Elba to get well soon as he fights this virus. Take care and best of health.”
Elba is not the first high-profile star to be diagnosed with the virus. Hollywood actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson announced last week they had tested positive while in Australia on pre-production for an Elvis Presley biopic he will star in. Hanks said he and Wilson, both 63, will remain in isolation.
The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on Monday stayed the execution of a Federal Capital Territory High Court ruling which suspended the National Chairman of the All Progressives Party (APC), Adams Oshiomhole.
The Justice Abubakar Datti Yshaya-led three-man panel of the Appeal Court unanimously granted the reliefs contained in an ex-parte motion argued by lead lawyer to Oshiomhole and the APC, Wole Olanipekun (SAN).
Delivering the lead judgement, Justice Yahaya also restrained the respondents from further taking any further steps in relation to the March 4, 2020 order by Justice Danlami Senchi of the High Court of the FCT.
Justice Yahaha said, “We employ political parties to try to resolve their differences amicably without having to unnecessarily bother the court.”
Three more corpses were recovered on Monday by emergency responders combing the buildings affected by the explosion that rocked Abule-Ado in the Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State.
The corpses were recovered from the rubble of some of the collapsed buildings at the Bethlehem Girls College in Abule-Ado.
Officials of the school confirmed the identity of the corpses to be workers of Bethlehem Girls College.
The corpses consist of two females and one male, The PUNCH reports.
THE PUNCH had reported that hundreds of residents in the area had been rendered homeless as the explosion destroyed their homes.
Some of the residents were seen parking their belongings from the rubble.
Rescue operation by FRSC, LASEMA, the Nigerian Red Cross, police, Federal and State Fire Service, Lagos State Neigbourhood Safety Corps is still ongoing, The PUNCH reports.
The state Chairman, Nigerian Red Cross, Adebola Kolawole, while speaking at the scene of the incident, said, “Three corpses have been recovered.”
The national Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has rejected moves to oust National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
He faulted the move saying those behind it have been infected by “the 2023 virus”.
In a statement he personally signed on Sunday afternoon, the former Lagos Governor said: “While Corona has been presently contained in Nigeria, we must be alert to another sickness that seems rampant within a certain segment of society. That sickness is old Ambition-virus 2023. This illness afflicts many in the political class along with their allies in the media.
“Those touched by this malady find that their ability to tell time and discern the difference between the present and the future has been strongly impaired. The carriers of this sickness are confused as to the very season our nation now finds itself.
“They conflate things, which no sensible person would conflate. The primary symptom of their malady is the driving tendency to believe the events of 2023 will be decided before we even exit the year 2020.
“Consequently, everything they say and do is geared toward obsessive jockeying for position to control and manipulate a race still three years away. In doing so, they recklessly undermine the very party which they claim to serve and weaken the administration of President Buhari to which they claim to be loyal. They line up to run a race for which the track has not even yet been constructed.
“Put another way, they seek to pluck the fruit before the seed is even planted. As such, their actions border on the pathological. True, ambition is inherent in human endeavour. Without it, nothing great is achieved. However, strong ambition applied in the wrong way has never done anything positive.
“At best, it results in confusion. Usually, its results in something worse. No matter how great one’s ambition and how able one may be, nobody can rush or speed time. That is beyond the realm of human capacity. To do so is to contest against fate itself. When it ends, such a contest rarely ends well.
“In a well-structured society, people come to understand that the time for politics is seasonal; it is periodic. The responsibilities of governance are what is perpetual. Many of our politicians sadly have inverted this reality. Politics and electioneering are secondary to governance for they are but tools of governance, the platforms by which one demonstrates his or her worthiness to lead a great people.
“The more a person obsesses over and constantly engages in political manoeuvring is a warning sign. Not only is he prone to the 2023 virus. He likely has little to offer in the way of good governance. He wants to hold public office that you might serve him not he serve you.
“For if he had adequately studied and been acquainted with the ways and means of progressive governance, he would be focused on that important task at the present moment. He certainly would not drown himself and all around him in harmful political intrigue.”
Stating that Oshiomhole has worked tirelessly for the APC, Tinubu continued: “The plotters launched their attack solely because they perceive the chairman as an obstacle to their 2023 ambitions. People went to court knowing full well the party constitution prohibits such action because these people had not yet exhausted all internal disciplinary procedures.
“We even had a national deputy secretary improperly call for a NEC meeting on the basis that he believed himself the acting national chairman. Clearly, this man would not have summoned the temerity to make such a move had he not been instigated by powerful individuals who he thought would reward or, at least, protect him for committing the wrongful act.
“Those engaged in these manoeuvres see themselves as clever or cunning. They do so because they only understand the mean craft of political intrigue. They have yet to understand the value and long-term utility of democratic governance. Thus, they embark on the strangest of quest. They would rather dismantle and weaken the institutional core of their party just to gain control of that weakened edifice in order to pilfer the party nomination, which they crave. This is more than sad.
“Many of us expended sweat, tears, toil and sleepless nights to build this party. Our personal sacrifices were not insignificant. We built this party not simply as a vehicle for personal ambition. We built the party because we saw it as perhaps the only enduring hope to bring progressive governance to this nation. Those who now seek to abuse the party by using it as their personal device do it great harm.
“They should not be allowed to sacrifice this collective enterprise at the altar of their self-aggrandizement. Somehow, some way they should find in themselves the bearing to adhere to the democratic spirit on which the party was founded. To be an APC member means more than merely carrying a membership card. It means to believe in a set of ideals and principles geared to our highest purpose as a party and a nation.”
He tackled the anti-Oshiomhole elements within APC, stating they were distracting President Muhammadu Buhari from fixing the nation. According to him: “In a broader context, those afflicted with the 2023 virus do a grave disservice to President Buhari and his administration. They should be trying their best to help the president. Instead of seeing President Buhari as our present leader and commander-in-chief, their sole contemplation is upon his eventual exit. Yet, not even a full year has passed since his second inaugural. How can they be committed to helping him realise his mandate when the fullness of their gaze is affixed to seizing this very mandate for themselves?
The President is faced with many challenges. He is fighting hard on security to keep the population safe. He is pushing for economic reforms that will augur future sustainable growth. His disdain for corruption remains unwavering. Add to it now the Corona crisis and its resultant social as well as economic impact. Politicians express loyalty to him but the words of too many of our politicians are like butter under a burning sun; they melt quickly away. Better to be loyal in deed. Instead of trying to manipulate party and other mechanisms solely to their political gain, it is time to shelve political intrigue for the time being. It is time for all party members to truly see what is at stake and work with Mr. President for the collective good of the nation.
This means we must rally around President Buhari. Instead of everyone saying they are working for the party and nation but going their separate ways based on their selfish designs, we must help him build a stronger national consensus on policies that will ensure safety and bring greater prosperity. If need be and when called upon, we must offer ideas and suggestions that move policy and progress forward. This is the time for governance. It is not the moment to bring the politics of 2023 into 2020. In due course, 2023 shall come. Nothing can prevent it. However, that time is not today. If we are earnest, the present offers sufficient work and challenges for us without trying to add to it by rushing the future. Let us dedicate our energies to helping President Buhari win the present. In this way, you better secure the future for the nation, the party and even for whatever personal ambitions you may nurture.
I have said what is on my mind in hopes that some people may leave the 2023 frenzy and commit themselves to the harder yet more rewarding task of improving progressive governance, whether within the party or at the local, state or federal levels. Yet, I am not so naïve to think all will heed this counsel. The stubborn, those obsessed with the obsession of their ambitions, will ignore all advice.
“They will constantly pull 2023 into all that occurs in 2020. Their vision is blurred and judgment made faulty by their ailment. We are democrats so we cannot physically quarantine them. However, we can quarantine their ideas and antics by not falling prey to them. This is the best way we help President Buhari fulfil his mandate and inoculate our party and the nation from grave folly.”
A drug which prevents HIV infections is to be made available by the National Health Service this year in a move to try and eliminate new transmissions of the virus within the decade.
PrEP or pre-exposure prophylaxis will be made routinely available to patients deemed to be at greater risk of catching HIV from April.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: ‘We are rolling out PrEP and making it available across the country with evidence showing it almost completely eradicates the chances of getting HIV. This will benefit tens of thousands of people’s lives, and drive us towards our ambition of zero HIV transmissions in this decade.’
Having HIV was once a ‘death sentence’ and it still has ‘a devastating impact on so many lives across the country’, he said. NHS England will cover the costs of the drug, having carried out a three-year study involving more than 20,000 people.
The Department of Health said local authorities will be given funding from April, with £16 million to be made available in 2020/21, to commission services in England for the first time to patients.
Musician and Aids activist Sir Elton John told the Sunday Times the decision was the ‘right’ one. He added: ‘Taking PrEP prevents HIV from being passed on, which is truly incredible.
‘It is the right decision for the UK Government to roll this out more widely to minimise the spread of this disease so more people are protected which is critical in fighting any epidemic.’
PrEP involves HIV negative people taking antiretroviral medicine, which works by stopping the virus replicating in the body.
PrEP is already available in Scotland to people who are considered to be at high risk of contracting HIV, and a trial of the drug is taking place in Wales.
According to the Terrence Higgins Trust, most recent estimates suggest there were around 103,800 people living with HIV in the UK , and around 7% of those are not aware they are HIV positive.
New diagnoses of HIV in the UK fell to their lowest level in almost two decades in 2018 4,484 people due to the success of preventative measures, Public Health England said.
These include HIV testing, condom provision, and wider use of PrEP.
The roll-out comes after a long-running battle by campaign groups to ‘secure a guarantee of proper access to this game-changer for HIV prevention in England’, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, Ian Green, said.
Deborah Gold, the National Aids Trust chief executive, said: ‘Routine commissioning of PrEP brings us one step closer to our goal of ending new HIV transmissions by 2030, but many more lie ahead.’
Professor Noel Gill, of Public Health England, said that PrEP is ‘highly effective at protecting against HIV’ when it is taken consistently and efforts to eliminate HIV transmission by 2030 depend ‘on making PrEP readily available to all at higher risk of acquiring HIV’.
Fans still in shock and are reacting after an Instagram blogger revealed that Banky W cheated on his wife actress Adesua Etomi with actor Gabriel Afolayan’s wife.
Banky W and Adesua Etomi got married in 2017 in a glamorous way which started from both of them starring as a couple in the movie Wedding Party.
Nigerians who celebrated them when their romance was highly coveted are now shocked at the news that Banky W cheated on Adesua Etomi. They find it more saddening that it is with Gabriel Afolayan’s wife.
IG blogger, Gistlover in a series of screenshots exposed how Banky W cheated on his wife with Gabriel Afolayans’ wife. In another post she exposed how Gabriel allegedly involved himself in drugs and became a wife beater, which made his wife cheat.
The South-East Governors’ Forum has concluded plans to launch its own security outfit for the region in April, chairman of the forum, Governor David Umahi, has disclosed.
This is coming as the former governor of the old Anambra State, Senator Jim Nwobodo, charged the governors to set up without further delay a regional security outfit that would be completely under their control.
Nwobodo, who gave the charge at the convocation of the Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki where he was conferred with an award of Doctor of Law on Saturday asked the South-East governors to adopt the South-West model of regional security outfit code named Operation Amotekun for the zone.
The elder statesman warned the governors to take the issue of security in the region seriously, pointing out that people were no longer going to their farms because of fear of being killed by criminals.
“I charge all the South-East governors to take the issue of security seriously. Today, as I was coming here, I saw empty land unused; people can no longer go to their farms because of fear and it is your first task as governors to ensure that your people are protected; that people will be free and can go to their farms.
“I don’t care how you will do it but you must do that because that is the most important thing,” he said.
Nwobodo, however, advised that the name to be adopted for the South-East security outfit must be a name that will frighten whoever that hears it.
He added, “If you want to call it ‘Onye Akpakwa Nwagu Aka n’odu’ (meaning don’t touch the lion’s tale), but you must call it a name that will make everybody frightened.”
But in his remark at the event, Umahi said the security outfit for the South-East region would be launched in April. He said it would be adaptable to the peculiarities of the zone.
He said, “A General is also heading our security outfit; if you like, call it Amotekun but we are coming up with something that is very wonderful and adaptable to our zone. When we roll out in the month of April, our people will be very proud of us as their governors.”
First Bank Plc may have opened merger talks with some other Nigerian and foreign banks ahead of the banking industry recapitalisation plan of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The bank said similar to other Nigerian banks, it would continue to scan sub-Saharan Africa in general for potential acquisitions.
The FBN Holding Plc in a statement obtained from the Nigerian Stock Exchange explained that in line with Rule 17.10 of the Rulebook of the Exchange 2015, recent events in the banking industry had thrown up merger and acquisition opportunities for banks.
The statement was signed by the Company Secretary, Seye Kosoko.
The group stated that it was therefore not unexpected that analysts would continue to share viewpoints about the evolution or potential consolidation in the Nigerian banking industry.
It said, “There will always be speculations on FirstBank’s involvement on account of its size, liquidity, systemic importance and historic support in backstopping the industry.
“Inorganic growth remains a strategic consideration for all financial institutions, but from First Bank’s perspective, will only be considered when it is value-accretive to shareholders and other key stakeholders.
“Similar to other Nigerian banks, First Bank continues to scan sub-Saharan Africa in general for potential acquisitions.
“FBN Holdings Plc is mindful of its responsibilities as a premium board-listed company and will make appropriate disclosures should it find such value.”
The bank was said to have started making moves to merge with Heritage Bank and Polaris Bank.
The Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, in June last year during the unveiling of his agenda said that the recapitalisation of banks had become imperative as their current capital could no longer finance large transactions.
He had said that the drop in the value of the naira to the dollar had weakened the capital of banks.
The apex bank boss had recalled that in 2004 when the banks were last asked to recapitalise, the value of a dollar to the naira was about N100.
This, according to him, meant that the N25bn capital base of banks when translated into the dollar was about $250m.
However, the governor said due to the drop in the value of the nation’s currency now exchanging for about N360 to a dollar, the translated value of N25bn is just about $75m.
He said, “In the next five years, we intend to pursue a programme of recapitalising the banking industry so as to position Nigerian banks among the top 500 in the world.”
Men of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a fake naval officer, Azeez Ali, for allegedly mutilating the private parts of a 42-year-old man, Sunday Amoo.
It was gathered that Ali, during an argument, used a military Jack knife to mutilate Amoo’s private parts, which resulted in multiple deep cuts.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, in a statement on Sunday, said Ali, who impersonated a naval officer, was arrested around Berger bus stop in the Bariga area of Lagos.
He said, “On March 14, 2020, around 1.50am, operatives from the Bariga Police Station arrested one Azeez Ali. The suspect, who impersonated a naval officer, is alleged to have used a military Jack knife to cut the private parts of one Sunday Amoo over a mere argument, resulting in multiple deep cuts.
“The victim was taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and is responding to treatment. An investigation is ongoing. The suspect will be charged.”
No fewer than 17 persons have been confirmed dead and 25 others injured after a gas explosion rocked the Abule-Ado area, near the International Trade Fair Complex, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State on Sunday.
More than 50 buildings in the area were impacted by the explosion, as hundreds of residents were rendered homeless.
Several vehicles parked in the area were also destroyed by the explosion.
Boarding pupils of the Bethlehem Girls College were trapped in the wreckage of their hostel, as residents and sympathisers pulled them out of the rubble.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the Principal of the college, Rev. Sr. Henritta Alokha, lost her life while attempting to rescue the pupils.
Our correspondents were told that the explosion occurred around 9am after a truck hit some gas cylinders in a gas processing plant.
The gas plant was located near the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s System 2B pipeline’s right of way.
A witness, who identified himself simply as Chibuzor, said his neighbour, who was just delivered of a baby, was trapped after her residence caved in.
He said, “We were in the church when it happened. At first, we thought it was a tanker explosion and we ran out of the church to see what had happened. But on getting out, we saw fire raging.
“My brother’s house was affected and a woman, who just gave birth, was in the house. We cannot hear her voice and she is not picking her calls.
“Immediately the explosion happened, the chapel of the school, where the children were gathered for morning mass, collapsed. Some were trapped underneath the rubble, while some have been rescued and rushed to hospital.”
A Twitter user, Alexehi Imobhio, said he was also in church when the explosion occurred.
“It felt like it exploded on the church premises. All the windows were shattered and worshippers ran for their lives. It was my first day in church after over four years,” he said.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency said 17 people were confirmed dead, adding that 25 were injured.
The Public Affairs Officer of the agency, Nosa Okunbor, said there was a series of explosions, which started around 9.05am.
He stated, “The incident, which recorded 17 dead and 25 injured, destroyed property estimated to worth hundreds of millions of naira, with unquantifiable devastation to other assets, as well as the environment.
“Aside these, people in their hundreds have suddenly become displaced in an incident in which two LASEMA response teams, as well as the Lagos State Government Fire Service, the Rapid Response Squad of the Nigeria Police and other first responders were in full attendance.”
While quoting the Director-General of LASEMA, Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, he said the agency could not tell the primary cause of the incident.
“While security agents are investigating the cause of the explosion, recovery and rescue activities were carried out by the Ministry of Special Duties, LASEMA, men of the Lagos State Fire Service, the Federal Fire Service Department, the Lagos State Safety Commission, LASBCA and other first responders.
“Seventeen bodies have been recovered, while 25 injured persons are being treated on site,” he added.
The National Emergency Management Agency said it recovered 15 corpses, including a family of four.
The spokesperson for the South-West, Ibrahim Farinloye, said a couple and their two sons were among those who died in the explosion.
He said they were on their way to church when the incident happened.
According to him, no fewer than 60 pupils of the Bethlehem Girls College, who sustained varying degrees of injury, were taken to the Nigerian Navy Hospital in Satellite Town.
Farinloye said over 50 buildings, including the college and a popular hotel, were damaged by the explosion.
He stated, “The resulting fire later spread to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation oil pipeline passing through the area even though the pipeline has been shut down as a precautionary measure.
“The fire was eventually extinguished around 3.30pm through the combined efforts of officials of the Lagos State Fire Service, Federal Fire Service and the Nigerian Navy Fire Tender.”
The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Kennie Obateru, explained that preliminary findings indicated that the impact of the explosion was so huge that it led to the collapse of nearby houses and damage to the pipeline.
The corporation’s Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, and other management staff of the oil firm were said to have left for Lagos on Sunday evening for an on-the-spot assessment.
Obateru stated that following the report of the explosion, the corporation halted pumping operations on the Atlas Cove-Mosimi pipeline, which was active at the time.
The NNPC said it had already mobilised its in-house team, consisting of health safety environment experts, medical and security personnel from its nearby Satellite Town depot in Lagos, adding that the Lagos State Fire Service to extinguish the fire.
The corporation said more firefighting personnel and equipment were mobilised from the NNPC Mosimi area office to the scene.
It urged members of the public and residents of the affected communities to remain calm, adding that the temporary shutdown of the petroleum products pipeline would not affect the normal supply of products to Lagos and its environs.
The Staff Officer, Western Naval Command, Oladele Daji, told journalists that the injured pupils had been stabilised at the Navy Hospital, adding that those who had fully recovered would be discharged soon.
During a visit to the Bonne Sante Hospital, where most of the pupils were rushed for treatment, one of the pupils, Ebube Abana, 15, said the explosion occurred while the Mass was being celebrated in the refectory.
“I am a boarding student; we were in the refectory when a car blew up. We were having Mass when I came outside and as I heard the explosion, blood started coming out of my ear, so I started running for my safety,”
The school’s Hostel Mistress, Christiana Adedoyin, said one of the security guards at the school died from the effect of the building collapse during the explosion.
One Federick Ose, whose brother, Festus, died during the incident, said, “My brother wanted to have his child dedication today (Sunday) when the incident happened and he was killed. His wife and children were able to escape. It was not the fire that killed him.”
Another resident, Ebis Michael, said his uncle, Obi Iyio, his wife and two children, Tochukwu and Kachi, were about to go to church when the explosion occurred and they were burnt beyond recognition.
The Chairman of the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, Valentine Buraimoh, said three schools were affected.
