Category Nigeria News

On Saturday, as rescuers searched through the rubble of collapsed buildings in a desperate search for survivors, the death toll from a massive earthquake that affected Myanmar and Thailand reached 1, 000.

Northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar was struck by a shallow 7.7-magnitude earthquake in the early afternoon, followed shortly thereafter by a 6.7%-magnitude aftershock.

Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city and home to more than 1.7 million people, saw the most extensive destruction caused by the earthquake, which destroyed buildings, downed bridges, and buckled roads across large areas of Myanmar.

Thar Aye, 68, a Mandalay resident, said, “We need assistance.” We don’t have enough of what, they say.

According to a statement from the junta, at least 1, 007 people were killed in Myanmar, and nearly 2,400 were hurt, with 30 more missing. In Bangkok, about 10 more deaths have been confirmed.

The true scope of the disaster is only beginning to emerge from the military-ruled state, and the toll is anticipated to significantly increase, given the severely hampered communications.

A Red Cross official told AFP on Saturday that more than 90 people might be trapped inside one Mandalay apartment block’s crushed remains.

At the Sky Villa Condominium development, where several of the building’s 12 storeys were stacked on top of each other, rescuers attempted to free the victims.

“Started shaking,”

Geologists believe this was the largest earthquake to strike Myanmar in decades, and the tremors were so severe that Bangkok’s downtown buildings were ruined by the earthquake’s magnitude.

A centuries-old Buddhist pagoda was reduced to rubble in Mandalay, where AFP journalists witnessed it.

A soldier sat at a checkpoint outside the pagoda and said, “It started shaking, then it started getting serious.”

“The monastery also sank,” he added. We pulled some people out and took them to the hospital after one monk died, and some others were hurt.

Journalists were turned away by security at Mandalay Airport.

One person claimed that “it has been closed since yesterday.” No one was hurt when the ceiling collapsed.

In a nation whose rescue efforts and healthcare system have already been ravaged by a military coup in 2021, damage to the airport would make things difficult.

Rare junta requests for assistance

On Friday, Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing made an unusually rare request for international aid, demonstrating the severity of the calamity. Even after significant natural disasters, previous military administrations have avoided receiving foreign aid.

After the earthquake, the nation declared a state of emergency across the six worst-affected regions, and on Friday, doctors were forced to treat the injured in the hospital’s Naypyidaw, one of the largest cities.

President Donald Trump pledged US assistance on Friday, prompting the introduction of foreign aid offers.

On Saturday, an initial flight from India arriving in Yangon, which would have flown with supplies for hygiene kits, blankets, food, and other necessities.

An 82-person team of rescuers from China went to Myanmar, according to China.

Myanmar is unprepared to deal with a catastrophe of this magnitude, according to international aid organizations. Before the earthquake struck, about 3.5 million people were forced to relocate as a result of the raging civil war, many of whom were already in danger of dying.

Building in Bangkok fell to pieces.

Rescuers searched through the night in Bangkok for survivors trapped in a 30-story skyscraper under construction that had collapsed and was quickly reduced to a pile of rubble and twisted metal as a result of the shaking.

According to Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt, around 10 people have died in the city’s skyscraper collapse, the majority of them in the collapse.

Up to 100 workers were still missing at the building, which is located close to the tourist-friendly Chatuchak weekend market.

Authorities believe they have seen at least 15 people’s thermal imaging drones as they searched the rubble for signs of life.

After receiving over 2, 000 reports of damage, Bangkok city authorities announced that they will send more than 100 engineers to check the safety of buildings.

Up to 400 people were forced to spend the night outside in city parks because it was unsafe to go back to their homes, according to Chadchart.

Bangkok’s shaking caused some dramatic images of rooftop swimming pools slosh their contents down the side of many of the city’s tall apartment blocks and hotels, despite the fact that there was no widespread destruction.

In the Uromi community of Esan North Local Government of Edo State, local vigilantes have murdered traveling hunters who were mistaken for kidnappers by President Bola Tinubu.

Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy), Bayo Onanuga, said the president was shocked by the reckless behavior on Thursday and had instructed police and other security forces to launch swift and thorough investigations and punish the suspected criminals in a statement released on Friday.

The statement stated in part that “President Tinubu expressed condolences to the families of the affected victims and assured them that innocent Nigerians would not be allowed to shed blood,” adding that the President made it clear that “jungle justice has no place in Nigeria.”

According to Tinubu, all citizens of Nigeria are free to travel wherever they choose. The governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, and community leaders in Uromi were then commended by President Tinubu for their swift action in halting the rise in tension.

Following the announcement by Edo police to make 14 arrests for the murder of the travellers, Tinubu responded.

On suspicion of being criminals, a mob brutally murdered the victims. The travelers were allegedly hunters.

The victims’ numbers were reported to be 16 by the Edo State Police Command. However, some individuals have been detained in connection with the attack, according to Moses Yamu, the command’s spokesman.

In a statement released on Friday, Yamu stated in a statement that “in the course of investigations, fourteen (14) suspects have been detained in connection with the crime. An urgent meeting was held with stakeholders and members of the community to address the situation.”

According to the Edo Police Command, the incident occurred when a “truck with registration number KKF 225 XA coming from Port Harcourt, carrying 25 people from Elele, a suburb of Rivers State, was accosted by some vigilante group members at Uromi, and some of the travelers who found themselves in possession of locally made dane guns were arrested.

“Some vigilante members raised the suspicion that they were suspected kidnappers while this was happening, which prompted some community members and bystanders to attack and lynch sixteen (16) of the occupants while the truck transporting them was also burned.

Ten ten (10) of the travelers were rescued, two of whom had various injuries, and were immediately taken to a hospital where they are currently responding to treatment, according to police operatives attached to the Uromi Division.

Yamu claimed that to avert a breakdown in law and order, a unit of the Police Mobile Force and other command tactical teams had been stationed in the area.

The police warned against reprisal attacks in any way and said that “investigaments continue” over the incident.

Read more about the Northern Senators Forum’s condemnation of mob killings in Edo.

The lynching of travelers also caused the Northern Senators Forum to be “deeply disturbed and saddened.”

The sad incident was a case of the victims being identified as Fulani kidnappers, according to a statement signed by group chairman Sen. Abdulaziz Yar’Adua on behalf of the organization.

The gruesome mob killings of innocent Nigerians in Uromi, Edo State on March 27, 2025 has deeply disturbed and sadden the Northern Senators Forum.

These people were travestied as Fulani kidnappers and brutally murdered in a despicable manner, according to the report.

The forum criticized the action, calling it a violation of the victims’ fundamental human rights.

Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president, is the subject of an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), according to what the presidency has described as “baseless”.

Atiku’s claims are “false and reflecting a troubling patter of relying on social media gossip,” according to a statement signed by Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Friday, according to Bayo Onanuga. ”

Atiku asserted on Thursday that Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos State, was the subject of an investigation by the EFCC.

Onanuga characterized Atiku’s assertions as unsupported and false in a statement released on Friday.

The president defended the claims as Atiku’s “desperate attempt” to maintain his political relevance through unsupported allegations and rumors on social media.

The former vice president Atiku Abubakar claims to be the subject of an EFCC investigation into unsubstantiated financial dealings involving Lagos State, and the Presidency has been drawn to these unfounded allegations.

These assertions, which were made available through his media office, are false and show a worrying pattern of relying heavily on social media gossip. It is repulsive that a politician of Atiku’s stature would support blatant social media speculation in order to maintain political relevance.

President Tinubu is busy addressing national issues, according to the statement, noting that he had no time for rumors.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, president, will continue to work toward addressing pressing national issues and advance his administration’s goals for growth and stability. The President is not motivated to engage in small-scale political distractions.

Atiku was advised to assume leadership roles and stop searching for attention in search of success.

Also read: Akpabio insults Tinubu on his 73rd birthday, claims the president’s fervor for Nigeria is infectious

Atiku claims that his accusations are untrue and are intended to refute his political failures. His repeated attempts to stifle debate between the Lagos State Government and the Presidency reveal a desperate bid for attention in his fading attempt to cobble together a coalition.

The former Vice President hasn’t been able to play the dignified role of an elder statesman since losing the 2023 presidential election. He has chosen the path of divisive rhetoric and unfounded accusations as opposed to making a constructive contribution to the national discourse.

We urge Atiku Abubakar to focus his efforts on initiatives that promote democracy, economic growth, and unity, which Nigeria urgently needs.

The former vice president ought to be aware that the EFCC, as a self-contained institution, does not have any outside influence on what is done. Any further implication would hurt the agency’s credibility and the rule of law.

Former state secretary of state George Nwaeke has made allegations against him and is asking Nigerians to discredit them.

In the wake of the political crisis that is roiling the Rivers, Mr. Nwaeke made accusations against Fubara as well as that he had conspired with militants to bomb oil pipelines in the state.

Also, read “Nigerians, Please Help Me!” After resigning, his ex-girlfriend raises concern about where he might be after leaving.

However, Fubara described Nwaeke’s comments as “laughable” in a statement he signed personally early on Saturday.

The governor claimed that “Dr. Nwaeke has been compromised, and whatever he is saying is only intended to fulfill his promise to those who may have coerced or paid him to lie against me.”

“I urge all well-meaning Nigerians and the good people of Rivers State to disprove everything that Dr. Nwaeke has said because it is all they are doing to denigrate me and my administration and undermine Mr. President’s efforts to bring about peace.”

GOV FUBARA’S FULL STATEMENT IS HERE:

I adore NWAEKE’S CRUTCHES OF GOVERNMENT. FUBARA

A press briefing from the former head of service, Dr. George Nwaeke, was broadcast on Channels Television on Friday, March 28, 2025.

Ordinarily, I would not have responded to his assertions, but I would have rectified the false impression that they might make of the people and the dissatisfaction it will likely cause in both the state and the nation.

First, in light of his claim that he was aware of my discussions and plans to support Bala Mohammed’s alleged 2027 presidential campaign, it is absurd that Dr. Nwaeke would attend any high level political gathering, much more than he claimed, and that he was present at one of my alleged nighttime gatherings with militants. No such meetings have ever taken place, I suppose.

The Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum’s visit to Bauchi State was not made public, and the entire world was aware of it.

There was no time I met with militants or any criminal organization that would destabilize the State, so it is absurd for Dr. Nwaeke to claim that he was aware of my meetings to promote attacks on oil pipelines and other national assets. Despite some glaring contradictions, it is known that I have consistently preached peace in the State.

In reality, Dr. Nwaeke has been compromised, and what he is saying is only intended to fulfill his promise to those who may have coerced him into lying to me.

I urge all well-meaning Nigerians and the good people of Rivers State to disprove everything that Dr. Nwaeke has said in an effort to denigrate my administration and undermine Mr. President’s efforts to bring about peace.

The wife of George Nwaeke, the immediate former head of service (HOS) of Rivers State, has been notified of her husband’s whereabouts just after he resigned.

Nwaeke resigned as the oil-rich state’s head of state a few days ago, claiming that the choice wasn’t made under duress.

Late on Friday, the ex-HoS’s wife called the governor and Nigerians for assistance because she was adrift and had no idea where her husband was.

Florence, who was clearly distraught, claimed that Nwaeke received a call from an Abuja friend. However, she claimed that her husband’s behavior has changed since he arrived in the capital.

He informed the dispatcher that he had landed when he arrived in Abuja. She responded, “Thank God,” and I said, “Thank you.”

“People called me right away and said he had a job, which I saw the next day,” I later discovered. What interview, I asked? What is the purpose of an interview? He gave an interview before I saw things flying on the internet. What transpired? That is not my husband, I said. That’s not my husband.

I then sent him a message. Are you under a lot of pressure, I asked. I messaged him. Have they kidnapped you, I asked. Now speak with me. Why don’t you speak to me? When I saw his online interview, I sent him this message.