These are the top five Nigerian stories that drove conversation today.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said he had no idea that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, flouted his directive to relocate to Benue State during the crisis.
Buhari said this during his visit to Makurdi.
The President said he did the needful by ordering the IG to relocate to the state but added, “I did not know that IG did not stay in the state.”
President Muhammadu Buhari and the United States Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson on Monday met at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Tillerson arrived for the meeting at about a few minutes after 4pm.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said that government was deeply worried about the incessant attacks on Benue’s rural communities.
Buhari said this when met with farmers, herdsmen, government officials and other stakeholders in Makurdi.
“I cannot overlook the killings in Benue or any other part of Nigeria. I cannot do that. I am genuinely worried about the attacks in Benue and we are doing everything to end them,” he said.
Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has said he is not scared of law courts following a suit filed against the government by some power generating companies (GenCos).
Speaking with operators in Akwa Ibom on Monday, the minister asked the GenCos to be ready to face scrutiny in the court of public opinion.
“Lately, I have read reports that some Generation Companies (GenCos) (not Ibom Power) have gone to court, filing claims against the government,” he said.
“That is their right and their prerogative. It is better than self-help, and it is consistent with the rule of law, which underpins our democracy.”
Garba Shehu, spokesman of the President Muhammadu Buhari has said his visit to Benue is not politically inclined.
He said: “Before the president’s visits, a statement was issued that he will be going there. He thought now is the best time to go there and see things on the ground and make important decisions.
“I would have thought that if he had intended to inject politics into it, he would have been on the plane the morning after the incident (in Benue).
“But he chose to act, rather than to talk and as you have seen yourself over this period of time, there was intervention by law enforcement, there was intervention by NEMA and aid agencies.”
And now, stories from around the world…
A plane carrying 71 passengers and crew has crashed on landing at Nepal’s Kathmandu airport, killing 49 people, according to police.
Rescuers pulled bodies from the charred wreckage of the plane, operated by Bangladeshi airline US-Bangla, after a raging fire was put out.
The airline has blamed air traffic control, but the airport says the plane approached from the wrong direction.
Former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia, Theresa May has told MPs.
The PM said the government concluded it was “highly likely” Russia was responsible for the Salisbury attack.
Russia’s ambassador has been asked to explain whether it was “direct action” by the state or due to it “losing control” of its nerve agent stock.
The Russian Foreign Ministry labelled Mrs May’s remarks a “fairy tale”.
US President Donald Trump’s plan to deter school shootings does not include his repeated calls to raise the age for buying semi-automatic rifles to 21.
But he is moving ahead with his controversial proposal to provide firearms training to school employees.
The president tweeted that there was not much political support for raising the minimum age on weapons sales.
South Korea says it has not received a response from Pyongyang on a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.
In a surprise development, Mr Trump on Friday accepted North Korea’s invitation to direct talks.
South Korean officials said Mr Kim was prepared to give up his nuclear weapons.
A pair of package explosions that left two people dead in Austin, Texas, over the past 10 days share similarities and authorities suspect they are connected, police said.
The latest incident occurred Monday morning; the other on March 2. In both instances, a resident retrieved a package that blew up when it was opened.
Both packages were not delivered via any mail services and both homes are those of African Americans. A 17-year-old boy died Monday and a woman was transported with non-life-threatening injuries. Another male died from his injuries in the March 2 explosion.
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