Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Sunday morning

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:
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‎1. Officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Aviation security, AVSEC, on Saturday intercepted and arrested two travelers attempting to board a flight with $6.1 million cash at the domestic wing of Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 in Lagos. They were caught during routine checks of an Aero Contractors flight to Abuja.

2. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Saturday announced that the Super Eagles’ arrival in Uyo for Tuesday’s FIFA World Cup qualifying clash against Benin Republic was delayed due to a technical issue with their aircraft. According to the NFF, the ValueJet chartered flight conveying the team and officials from Polokwane, South Africa, to Uyo developed a cracked windscreen mid-air.

3. Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has alleged that the current hardship being experienced in the country is mentally affecting Nigerians. Obi, also a former Governor of Anambra State, lamented what he described as troubling and deepening mental health crises in the country, saying that poverty and unemployment have pushed many Nigerians into criminality.

4. A Police Constable, Ukasha Muhammed (F/No 533164), has been allegedly shot dead by soldiers. According to sources, a soldier attached to the Joint Military/Police Operation Safe Haven maintaining peace in Plateau State, part of Bauchi and Kaduna States, was involved in an argument with policemen at a checkpoint.

5. THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday vowed not to give up, even as more of its members are reported to be defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 elections. The party was reacting to the reported defections of Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah and Bayelsa State Governor Douye.

6. Troops of the North East Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, have neutralised nine Boko Haram terrorists during a fighting patrol near Goni Dunari village in Magumeri Local Government Area of Borno State. This latest success comes just 24 hours after troops repelled another Boko Haram assault on Ngamdu town, killing several fighters.

7. The Federal Government said it had opened conversation with the United States Government over allegations of state-backed Christian genocide. It was gathered that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reached out to the US and rejected the claim made by some lawmakers.

8. The Police Command in Ebonyi has detained a middle-aged man, Chukwuma Onwe, for allegedly selling his 5-day-old son for N1.5 million. Onwe, a native of Nwezenyi-Igbeagu Community in Izzi Local Government Area of the state, was apprehended when his would-be wife, Philomena Iroko, alerted her neighbour, who informed the police of the husband’s action.

9. The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers has faulted claims by the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers that retailers are to blame for the recent surge in cooking gas prices across the country. In a statement signed by the branch’s National Chairman, Ayobami Olarinoye, on Saturday, the retailers said the recent scarcity and sharp increase in liquefied petroleum gas prices had brought untold hardship to Nigerian households and businesses.

10. No fewer than 17 houses have been demolished by the Lagos State Government for encroaching on the Right of Way (RoW) of the Ikota River alignment. The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, led a monitoring team alongside journalists to the site on Saturday.