The Late 5: CAN General Secretary, Dr. Musa Asake dies at 66, Super Eagles to play Atletico Madrid and other stories

Here are the stories that drove the conversation today:

Rev. Dr. Musa Asake, The General Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is dead. He was aged 66.

According to a statement issued by Pastor Bayo Oladeji, Special Assistant on Media to the CAN President, Asake died on Friday after a brief illness.

Asake has been vocal against the killing of Christians in the country and was among those who led a nationwide protest organised by the organisation against incessant killings in Nigeria to spur the Federal Government and security agencies to their constitutional responsibilities a few weeks ago.


President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said over 278 convictions of corrupt officials have been secured by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) between 2017 and first quarter of 2018.

Represented by the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, Buhari made the disclosure in a message at the passing out parade of 314 cadets of the EFCC Detective Superintendent Course 7 for 2017/2018, held at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna.

Buhari said 189 convictions were secured in 2017 and 89, including that of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in the first quarter of 2018.


Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has said the delay in the passage of the 2018 budget would have some impact on the nation and cause some adjustments in implementation.

Adeosun said this during a news conference on Friday in Abuja, adding that the impact was because of market forces and the cost of funds in the money market.

She, however, said that the Federal Government would try to mitigate the effects of the delay, adding that the 2017 budget cycle which began late in the year had helped a great deal.


The Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (KADSIECOM), is set to conduct elections into the 23 Local Government Councils in the state on Saturday, 12th May 2018 using electronic voting for the time first in Nigeria.

In a statement issued by Samuel Aruwan, Spokesman to the Kaduna Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, said pursuant to the exercise, SIECOM has requested that movement on all state roads be restricted on the election day between 6am and 5pm to guarantee the peaceful and orderly conduct of the elections.


Ahead of next month’s World Cup in Russia, the Super Eagles of Nigeria will take on LaLiga club, Atleticó Madrid, on May 22 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital.

It is the first time the Spanish team will be visiting the country and the game will serve as preparation for Gernot Rohr’s men for the Mundial.

The President of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, said, “This is a historic announcement and we are excited to share this news with our Nigerian fans: Atleticó Madrid, one of LaLiga’s greatest clubs, will come to Nigeria and give our fans the chance to enjoy watching their stars up close. Africa and Nigeria, in particular, are very important for us and have a lot of love for Spanish football, something we are proud of.”


And stories from around the world:

Iran says it is ready to restart its nuclear program on an “industrial scale” in the wake of the decision by US President Donald Trump to abandon the deal that curbs the country’s nuclear ambitions.

In a statement published Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said he would embark on a round of international diplomacy to try and save the deal. At the same time, the country would make preparations to restart its program of nuclear enrichment, he said.

Thousands of Iranians took to the streets, burned an American flag, and railed against the US and Israel after emerging from Friday prayers in Tehran.


British Prime Minister, Theresa May on Friday bowed to pressure from families of the 71 people who died in last year’s Grenfell Tower fire by appointing new experts to assist in an inquiry into the blaze.

Prior to May’s announcement Friday, the panel was to consist only of inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick and had said in December 2017 that she had told Moore-Bick that she would not appoint additional panel members.

May’s U-turn came after she spoke with a group of people affected by the fire at Downing Street on Thursday evening, and ahead of a House of Commons debate on the fire due Monday.


Thousands of Indonesian Muslims marched in protest against US President Donald Trump’s controversial decision moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, due to be inaugurated on Monday.

The protest in Jakarta on Friday is the latest in a series of protests across the Islamic world sparked by Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Indonesia — the world’s largest Muslim-majority country does not have diplomatic ties with Israel.


Turkish prosecutors on Friday ordered the detention of 300 military personnel over their alleged links to a group accused of masterminding a failed coup bid in 2016, local media reported.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said 211 of the 300 suspects are actively serving in the Turkish Armed Forces, while the others have been suspended from their duty.

“A total of 150 suspects have been detained in operations launched early in the morning following the order of the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul,’’ it said.


A Sudanese teen, Noura Hussein who was sentenced to death by a court on Thursday for murdering her husband after he tried to rape her, has called on President Omar Al-Bashir to pardon her as she was forced into a child marriage, and had acted in self-defence.

A Sharia court, which follows Islamic religious law, found Hussein guilty of premeditated murder.

“They chose death and now the death penalty has been handed down,” said Badr Eldin Salah, an activist from the Afrika Youth Movement who was in the court.

“Noura’s lawyers say they plan to appeal against the decision, but we also need strong international support from organisations such as the African Union, the United Nations and the European Union to support her.”

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