Adigwe’s death was announced by a movie producer, Stanley Nwoko, in a post on his Instagram page .

Mourning the actor, Nwoko wrote, “Rest in peace, good actor.”

Adigwe’s death is coming two weeks after Junior Pope and three other Nollywood actors died in a boat accident in Anam River.

The actors were said to be on their way to a location when the incident occurred.

Adigwe gained recognition primarily for portraying fatherly characters in Nollywood films.

His breakthrough role came as Mr. B in the popular sitcom “Basi and Company.”

He also appeared in the highly successful 2019 movie “Living in Bondage: Breaking Free.”

Although born in Enugu State and spent his early years there, he later moved to Austria, where he completed his primary and secondary education.

Sinner said he should not be compared to his fellow top-three rivals, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.

The Italian world number two can come within touching distance of the top-ranked Djokovic in the standings should he triumph in Madrid this fortnight and he arrives in the Spanish capital brimming with confidence and carrying an impressive 25-2 win-loss record for the season.

The reigning Australian Open champion, who owns a tour-leading three titles in 2024, is ranked number one in the ATP’s Race to Turin and is 1,650 points ahead of second-placed Daniil Medvedev.

“I think it’s a tough question to answer. We always see only this moment and I think that sometimes it’s good but also not good.

“I still believe that you cannot compare myself with Novak with all that he has done. And the same goes for Carlos. Also, Carlos won more than me.

“I have a lot of respect for both of them. I just try to play my game, trying to understand what works best for me and then we see what I can achieve,” the 22-year-old Sinner told reporters in Madrid

Sinner has never made it past the third round in either of his previous two appearances at the Caja Magica and will be looking to change that this time around.

In the absence of Djokovic, who has pulled out of the tournament, Sinner is the top seed in Madrid, where he faces Richard Gasquet or Lorenzo Sonego in the second round.

“I used to struggle quite a lot in the previous years, finding my level here, so it’s going to be interesting to see how I’m going to play this year,” he added.

Alcaraz back from injury

Meanwhile, Alcaraz had no qualms describing Sinner as the game’s best and the Spanish world number three acknowledges it will be tough trying to stop his good friend and rival from taking over the top spot in the rankings.

“He’s dangerous, he’s really dangerous. He’s the best player in the world right now,” said Alcaraz, who is the two-time defending champion in Madrid.

“Probably everybody thinks that his tennis doesn’t suit very much clay but he gets good results on clay as well, he can win every tournament he goes to, and I’m fighting with him, with Novak, to be in the first spot and I’m trying not to let them stay there.

“Honestly it’s going to be difficult. They deserve to be there and let’s see what’s going to happen in the next tournaments.”

The 20-year-old Alcaraz is coming off a right arm injury that forced him to skip the tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

He said he managed to increase the intensity of his training since his arrival in Madrid and is hoping to be 100 percent ready for his opener on Saturday against Arthur Rinderknech or Alexander Shevchenko.

On the eve of the tournament, Alcaraz attended the Laureus World Sports Awards and presented Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham with the Breakthrough of the Year award, giving an impressive speech, in English, in front of a marquee audience.

“I didn’t feel comfortable on the stage. I was so nervous. I practised that speech during the week almost 50 times just to make sure it was going to be perfect and I was shaking, my legs were shaking. I’m not used to giving a speech in front of legends of the sports and in front of that kind of people,” confessed Alcaraz.

Elsewhere, world number four Medvedev is hoping to avoid another on-court tantrum if faced with questionable officiating after his fiery reaction to disputed calls in Monte Carlo made headlines.

While most big tournaments have adopted electronic line-calling, many clay events still use line judges, given the mark of the ball should be easy to see on the red dirt.

Monte Carlo witnessed numerous issues with officiating though, and Medvedev is aware he has to find a way to control his temper throughout the clay season.

“Mistakes can happen. I wish I hadn’t reacted like this, so let’s see if next time it happens, I cannot promise anything but hopefully, I can focus more on the match than on the mistake itself,” said the 28-year-old Russian.

Arewa PUNCH’s investigation revealed that the contaminated cow beef were buried around the Kwara State College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies in Ilorin, the state capital.

This follows several measures already put in place by the government to prevent meat sellers and the residents from consuming the meat from the contaminated animals.

In a statement released by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Funke Sokoya, the State Government through the collaborative effort of the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Environment, and the State Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with other concerned stakeholders, including the Iyaloja of Mandate Market, all agreed to suspend slaughtering activities for three consecutive days beginning from Monday to allow for proper fumigation of the slaughter slabs against any residual effect.

Arewa PUNCH recalls that a group tagged the Kwara Monitoring Group in a statement issued earlier on Sunday, April 21, 2024 and signed by one Dan Musa had call the attention of the Commissioners of Environment, Health and that of the Kwara Environmental Protection Agency for an immediate action so as to prevent the poisoned meat of the dead cows from being sold to unsuspecting public at the various market places.

According to the group, “Over 33 number of cows were suspected to be poisoned and died immediately but surprisingly, the dead animals were slaughtered and distributed out to butchers to be sold.

“It happened along Atere Road (that leads to Al Hikma campus) right Inside the College of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Ilorin.

“It is our prayers that the concerned Ministry and Agency take the appropriate and immediate action as nobody knows whose family such poisoned meat would be sold to in the market.”

The government, in a State House statement titled, “Kwara Govt Team Arrives Mandate Market, Confiscates Suspected Beef” which was jointly signed by the state Commissioners of Health and Agriculture, Dr Amina El-Imam and Toyosi Thomas Adebayo, respectively explained that the government team had visited the Mandate Market to confiscate the alleged poisonous cow meat.

The statement read in parts, “The Kwara State Government officials and experts have arrived at the Mandate Market in Ilorin to activate measures to protect the public amid rumours of poisoned cow meat.’’

“On the team were the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Toyosi Thomas-Adebayo; Commissioner for Health Dr. Amina Ahmed El-Imam; officials from the Ministry of Environment, including the Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Environmental Protection Agency, Mrs Folorunsho Idayat, and officials from the Ministry of Health, including the Permanent Secretary, Alhaja Afusat Ibrahim, and the Director of Public Health, Dr. Oluwatosin Fakayode, among others.

“The government has immediately confiscated all the suspected meats after laboratory tests and confirmation of claims after initial engagements with the Mandate Market stakeholders in Ilorin the state capital on Sunday morning.”

Meanwhile, a preliminary investigation on the incident shows that the cause of the ugly incident was as a result of grazing on contaminated grasses around the area.

According to the statement, the Ministry of Agriculture would intensify its surveillance at the different abattoirs in the state, especially the private and government abattoirs.

In his submission, the Director of Veterinary Services, Dr. Olugbon Abdullateef Saliman said, “all the private slaughter slabs in the state in the ongoing, will have to reduce their number to the level that the ministry could manage. Any slaughter slab that the meat is not inspected will not be allowed to go out to the market. If the slaughter slab is not following our standard it will be closed down, and those closed down will be directed to the government slaughter slabs.

“Also, any private slaughter slab that is close to the government slab will be directed to go and slaughter at the government slaughter slabs. By this standard, we will be able to monitor what they slaughter and sell to the populace,” the statement added.

The State Government on Sunday ordered the temporary shut down of the abattoir at Mandate Market, Ilorin, in Ilorin West Local Government Area of the state till Wednesday, following the alleged sale of poisonous cow meat in the market.

The government in a statement by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Dr Abubakar Ayinla also ordered the immediate general cleaning and fumigation of the area harbouring the abattoir so as to cleanse it of the suspected meat poisoning in the facility.

Ayinla, in a statement explained that the steps were part of the efforts to protect members of the public following the incident of sale of suspected contaminated poisonous Cow meat in the market.

“The Kwara State Ministry of Environment has temporarily shut down the abattoir at Mandate Market in Ilorin to allow for fumigation and general cleaning of the area following suspected meat poisoning in the facility.”

The permanent secretary stressed that the steps are part of the efforts to protect members of the public following the incident.

Mayowa, a respected figure in the boxing fraternity, was admitted at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Ikeja on Sunday, April 21 due to his deteriorating condition.

His wife, Funmilayo, who is by his side at the hospital, said, “His (Mayowa) condition is very serious, and we are still awaiting test results.

“The doctors have indicated that they cannot determine the cost of treatment until the necessary tests are completed.”

The treatment for Mayowa is substantial, and his current resources are inadequate to cover the expenses. In light of this, he and his wife have made a plea for financial assistance to ensure that he receives the necessary medical care.

Contributions can be made to the account of Lasisi Mayowa at GTBank, with the account number 0132024908, Funmilayo said.

The boxing community has already rallied behind Mayowa, as over N40,000 was contributed by some members of the AIBA PRO BOXING Whatsapp Group that also contributed to aid late boxer and coach Jeremiah Okorodudu last year.

Expressing her gratitude to those who have extended assistance, Funmilayo said, “I want to thank everyone sending money to us; my family and I really appreciate it. The contributions and prayers have been invaluable, and we remain hopeful for continued support.”

Nigeria Boxing Federation Technical Director, Babatunde Laguda, told our correspondent that Mayowa was taken to the hospital after his health condition deteriorated.

“He was stable before but then the condition went out of hand on Sunday and they had to take him to the hospital. I did what I could and found a way to get the information on our Whatsapp Group, where they have been getting some assistance.

“He is a good coach and we hope his condition gets better,” Laguda said.

Coach Mayowa has produced several boxers from his club in Lagos and was also a pioneer member of the YUCATECO Boxing League. His children also took to the game with his son and daughter winning medals at the 2023 National Youth Festival in Asaba, Delta
State.

The delegation of 37 state chairmen gave the endorsement during a solidarity visit to the secretariat of the party in Abuja.

The embattled national chairman opened up on his purported suspension by his ward in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State, saying the drama looked like a flick from the popular entertainment channel, Africa Magic.

The PUNCH last week reported how the ward’s Legal Adviser, Haladu Gwanjo, led some party leaders to pronounce the former Kano governor’s suspension.

Gwanjo, who hinged the purported suspension on the alleged bribery case brought against Ganduje and his wife, said the decision was taken by nine executive members of the APC ward.

In a twist, however, Gwanjo and other executive members in Ganduje Ward in Dawakin Tofa Ward Local Government visited Ganduje in Abuja, alleging that impostors carried out the suspension move.

The purported suspension move was quickly followed up with a Kano High Court order on Wednesday, restraining Ganduje from parading himself as the APC national chairman.

Despite spirited efforts to abort the move by the Kano APC, which immediately suspended the ward executive members for their roles, the new court injunction proved to be a stumbling block.

The court order was, however, put on hold when the embattled national chairman secured another injunction from the Federal High Court presided over by Justice A.M. Liman.

The ruling was given after Ganduje filed an ex parte motion, seeking to enforce his fundamental right to a fair hearing.

Addressing the audience on Tuesday, the acting chairman of the forum and Lagos APC chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, said they were solidly behind Ganduje and would defend him against external aggression.

He said, “We are here this afternoon on just one mission. Chairman, we are here to let you know that you’re the captain of the ship.

“We are here to let you know that we are also your foot soldiers in the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and FCT.

“We are here to show our solidarity and sincere commitment to appreciate what members of the National Working Committee have been doing in standing by you, by giving you total support.

“We feel it’s important that the act of that solidarity should not be limited to members of the NWC alone. Today, we bring the solidarities from the 36 states of the federation, including FCT, to tell members of the public through the media that we’re solidly behind you.

“You have started the journey, a journey of growing our party, a journey of expanding our party, a journey of restructuring our party and a journey of making our party the one all will love. And we’re pretty sure that you’re on course.

“You kept on briefing us on every step you are taking and from what we have seen, they (alleged impostors) are not even members of our party. They are coming to derail the process of progression we are witnessing in our party. It is not in our dictionary.

“Mr Chairman, on behalf of my colleagues, I want to thank you for providing leadership and God Almighty will continue to be with you.”

Appreciating the gesture, the APC national chairman fingered the New Nigeria People’s Party and Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, as the brain behind his purported suspension.

According to Ganduje, the whole drama looked like ‘African magic’ to him.

Nigeria are pitted against Spain, Brazil, and Japan in a tough Group C of the tournament, which begins July 25, a day before the opening ceremony of the Games, and will run until August 10, when the Games come to an end.

The Falcons booked their spot at the Games for the first time since 2008 by defeating rivals South Africa 1-0 on aggregate in the final qualifying round.

The team’s coach, Randy Waldrum, has labelled their group the “group of death,” but Gusau believes the 11-time African champions can replicate their 2023 Women’s World Cup form, where they bowed out on penalties against England in the round of 16, having held Olympic champions Canada and Northern Ireland, and beating co-hosts Australia.

“We’ll try to improve on our World Cup performance, where we crashed out without losing a single game during regulation time. The girls have shown resilience and determination to qualify for the Olympics against all odds, and I trust them to carry that same spirit to the Games in Paris,” Gusau said.

Gusau is also setting his sights on the podium in Paris.

“After a performance at the World Cup in Australia or New Zealand, I know none of the teams in our group will take us for granted. We want to qualify from the group stage and target the semi-finals, which puts us in the medal range. I believe the team will do well in Paris and return to the country with medals on their necks. Missing three previous Olympic qualifications will motivate the girls to make their mark in Paris,” he added.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the suspect, Maryvianney Ikejimba (alias Oluchi), 40 years old, and one Chidera, now at large, handed over the children to two orphanage homes under the guise of giving them better care.

The children, our correspondent learnt, were handed over to the suspects by their parents at a farm community in Enugu-Awka camp by the Monastery, Ilah, Delta State.

Ikejimba was reportedly arrested by the NAPTIP following a tip-off, while she came to the farm community apparently to recruit more children.

When contacted, the NAPTIP Zonal Commander in Benin, Nduka Nwanwenne, who confirmed the incident, said the suspect was in their custody.

He said the suspect claimed to be trained in Ghana as a Rev. Sister while their headquarters is in the Philippines. He said she came to meet the parents and persuade them to allow their children to follow them to their orphanage homes and that they would be given better care.

He added, “To convince the parents when they were handed over the first batch of the children, he said the suspects asked two of the parents to follow them to know the two orphanage homes the children would stay’.

“Thirty-two of the children have been recovered by the agency while six who are between the ages of three and six years old are yet to be recovered

“The suspect claimed that three of the six children are in Badagry while the other three are in Ogun State but later said they have been adopted by people in the East.”

Nwanwenne said on January 28 the suspect was given 12 children while on February 19, she was given 26 children bringing the total number of children in her custody to 38, noting that the children were all minors.

According to him, the suspect and her accomplices were human traffickers, who were posing as Rev. sisters from a convent in Owerri, recruiting children for human trafficking.

He said the agency was still on the trail of the other suspect who is at large and that the suspect would be charged in court as soon as the investigation is concluded.

He warned parents to be vigilant and never trust anybody with their kids without asking fundamental questions.

Skytrax, a UK-based airline and airport review and ranking site, announced the ratings on Wednesday at the World Airport Awards in Frankfurt, Germany.

Annually since 1999, Skytrax surveys over 570 airports and evaluates traveller experiences across different airports. It also highlights key performance indicators.

Respondents are polled on a variety of areas, from check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security and immigration, through to departure.

Data for the latest rankings were collected between August 2023 to March 2024 from more than 100 nationals, Skytrax said.

South Africa shone in the ratings on the continent, taking home three awards.

Asides ranking first on the list, Cape Town airport also took home ‘Best airport staff service in Africa’ while Durban King Shaka Airport, which came second, had an additional award for ‘Best regional airport in Africa’.

Johannesburg’s Tambo International Airport came third, while the Mohammed V International Airport serving Casablanca, Morocco, polled fourth.

At fifth place was Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport in Mauritius, with Morocco making another entry via Menara Airport in Marrakesh for sixth place.

Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport, the hub of Ethiopian Airline, was ranked seventh, while the Kigali International Airport in Rwanda scooped the eight spot.

Cairo International Airport in Egypt took the ninth position while Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport had the tenth place.

Neither the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, nor the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, made the rankings.

Ibrahim Idris, a former inspector-general of police, had once compared the Abuja airport to “a world class airport like you see in Dubai”.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari had promised that his administration would deliver world class airport infrastructure to Lagos.

Doha’s Hamad International Airport in Qatar was named the ‘World’s best airport 2024’ and also won awards for the ‘World’s best airport shopping’ and the ‘Best airport in the Middle East’.

The airport is the home of Qatar Airways, the national carrier.

Singapore’s Changi Airport, ‘2023 Airport of the year’ winner and 12-times previous winner, dropped to second place in the global ranking, winning awards for the ‘Best airport in Asia’ and the ‘World’s best airport immigration service’.

Seoul Incheon Airport, which moved up to third place, was named the ‘World’s most family friendly airport’, while Tokyo’s Haneda Airport came in at fourth place and was declared the ‘World’s cleanest airport’, ‘World’s best domestic airport’, and delivering the ‘World’s best airport PRM & accessible facilities’.

Rome’s Fiumicino Airport picked up the award for ‘World’s best airport security processing’ and Istanbul’s airport was voted ‘World’s best airport dining experience’.

Below are the lists for the world’s best airports and the Africa ranking.

Adesina, a professor of History at the University of Ibadan (UI), disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.

According to him, the nation’s education standard still towers among other nations of the world despite the challenges within the sector.

He said winning the award negated all wrong insinuations that Nigerian education was in shambles.

“I don’t think that is true. We still have the knowledge; we have integrity and passion despite everything happening in the system,” Adesina said.

He said the British Academy Global Award started in 2018 for professors across the world to compete for grants to execute their respective projects.

He said the grants could be highly competitive and extremely difficult to get.

According to him, an interested party is expected to apply online and look for a host university in the United Kingdom.

The applicant, Adesina said, would be expected to approach the host university to strengthen his/her application before being passed through the department and faculty of the university.

The don said the application would then be sent to the British Academy Global Award where all applications across the world end up.

“Thereafter, the academy will send all applications to its assessors for assessment to select the best. For the year 2024, only eight applications were selected from the mass of applications submitted and two were from Nigeria,” Adesina said.

Speaking on his research, Adesina said it would be looking at the interface between the town and gown; the town being the city of Ibadan and the gown being UI.

“My specific topic is ‘The Town and Gown Interface: Ibadan and Decolonisation of Social Knowledge in the 20th Century’.

“So, for the first time, we are looking at the position of the town in the relationship of the university to the decolonisation of knowledge,” Adesina said.

He said the research would be undertaken by him at the University of Manchester for four years with a grant to the tune of £879,117.

NAN reports that the second Nigerian winner is Prof. Abubakar Sule Sani with his research theme on ‘Looking Forward, Looking Back: Past and Present West African Communities Revealed through Museum Collections’.

He was awarded the sum of £892,037.31 with the University of East Anglia as the host university.

The NBA President, Mr Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), said this in a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr Habeeb Lawal, in Lagos.

Maikyau urged Muslims to use the occasion to pray for a peaceful country.

The president, who noted that the Eid marked the end of the fasting period for the Muslims, urged the faithful to ensure that the teachings of the period should not be forgotten.

“The NBA President and the National Executive Committee of the NBA, felicitates the Muslim Ummah, particularly Muslim lawyers and members of the Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria. This Eid is an instructive celebration and the Ramadan teachings of perseverance, discipline, generosity, sacrifice, piety and humility should not be lost even after Ramadan. May these virtues make us better individuals, conscietious professionals, and more patriotic citizens, as we contribute our quota to making Nigeria a more prosperous and peaceful nation. Eid Mubarak” he said