Senate President, Ahmad Lawan has condemned the killing of Ahmed Gulak and urged security operatives to ensure that all those involved are made to pay for their gruesome deed. The President of the Senate described the killing of the former Speaker of the Adamawa House of Assembly and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress as one crime too many.Lawan in a communique noted that there can be no justification for the brutal murder of a human being and fellow citizen.He, however, appealed for restraint on the part of those calling for revenge, saying they should allow the relevant authorities to serve justice on the matter as the injury of the crime was inflicted on Nigeria as a whole.

Economic and commercial activities came to a standstill on Monday in the South-East region of the country.This is in compliance with the sit-at-home order issued by the proscribed group, Indigenous People of Biafra.IPOB, through its spokesperson, Emma Powerful said the human and vehicular movement would be restricted across the South-East on Monday to mark the 54th anniversary of Biafra.Imo State capital was empty. Businesses, schools, and other major economic hubs were shut. Vehicular movements were also grounded.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ordered flags flown at half-mast on all federal buildings, including the Peace Tower on Parliament in Ottawa, after the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found at a residential school.Trudeau says the move is to honour the 215 children whose lives were taken at the former Kamloops residential school and all Indigenous children who never made it home, the survivors, and their families”.Indigenous community leaders and many others had called on the government to lower flags across Canada after a First Nation in the province of British Columbia announced that the remains of 215 children had been found on the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School.

Israeli and Egyptian officials held talks in both countries aimed at bolstering the Cairo-brokered ceasefire that ended the latest deadly flare-up of violence between the Jewish state and Gaza’s Hamas rulers.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel in Jerusalem to discuss strengthening cooperation between their countries.Israel’s Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi tweeted that they would discuss establishing a permanent ceasefire with Hamas, a mechanism for providing humanitarian aid and the reconstruction of Gaza with a pivotal role played by the international community.The Egyptian foreign ministry also tweeted that the ministers’ talks were part of Egypt’s relentless and continued efforts to revive the peace track and to build on the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Leaders of the West African grouping Ecowas have suspended Mali's membership from the bloc following last week's military coup - the second in nine months.The coup leader and now interim president, Colonel Assimi Goïta, attended the meeting in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.Ghana's Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey told reporters that the block has called on Mali to nominate a new civilian prime minister immediately, to adhere to an 18 months transition period and to hold a presidential election next February.Ghana says the stability of Mali was critical if West Africa was to hold back terrorist activities from the region.

South Africa is increasing its Covid-19 restrictions to try and fight a surge in recent infections.A nightly curfew is to be extended meaning non-essential shops, bars and restaurants, will be forced to close by 22:00.President Cyril Ramaphosa says further restrictions were necessary to ensure that health facilities were not overwhelmed.South Africa has recorded more than 56,000 deaths and more than 1.5 million - more than any other Africa nation.Only about 1.5% of the country's 60 million people have so far received a vaccine.

Egypt will lift restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus from Tuesday.Restaurants will be allowed to operate long after the 6 May order for them to close by 21:00 local time.Businesses in Egypt have summer and winter working hours with closure time ranging from 22:00 local time to midnight.The restrictions were imposed after a rise in coronavirus cases.The country had imposed strict measures at the start of the pandemic last year but eased out slowly.

The Nigerian Army has reiterated its commitment to crushing Boko Haram terrorists, members of the banned Indigenous Peoples of Biafra and ending all forms of criminality in the country.Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Major General Farouk Yahaya stated this during the passing out parade of the 80 regular recruits intake at the Nigerian Army Depot, Zaria in Kaduna State.Major General Farouk explained that the military will not rest on its oars until the entire country is safe for all citizens to live in.He says that the contemporary security challenges orchestrated by bandits and terrorists across the country demand that the Armed Forces maintain a well-trained and disciplined force, congratulating them for the completion of their initial training at the institution

The House of Representatives has suspended its constitution review hearing scheduled to hold in Imo and Abia States.In a communique by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Idris Wase noted that the House of Representatives Special Committee on Constitution Review Zonal Public Hearing scheduled to take place in Owerri Central (Imo and Abia States) has been suspended until further notice.This suspension of the constitution review hearing in the two South-Eastern states comes on the heels of the gruesome murder of a former presidential aide, Ahmed Gulak, in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

Agitators for the creation of new states in the South-east, South-south and the North-west geopolitical zones at the weekend intensified their lobby of the National Assembly to ensure that their demands sail through.THISDAY reports that the agitators made forceful arguments for new states in their memoranda submitted to the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review, which concluded its two-day public hearing in the six geopolitical zones of the country last Thursday.Their demand stemmed from the fact that of the six zones in the country, only the South-east has the least number of states, which is five. While the North-west has seven states, each of the other four zones has six states.