Myanmar earthquake death toll crosses 3,000

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5 days ago

April 3, 2025

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Death toll from Myanmar’s devastating earthquake has surpassed 3,000, with hundreds more missing.

This is as forecasts of unseasonal rain presented a new challenge for rescue and aid workers trying to reach people in a country riven by civil war.

Ekwutosblog reports that the last Friday’s 7.7-magnitude quake, one of the Southeast Asian nation’s strongest in a century, jolted a region home to 28 million, toppling buildings, flattening communities and leaving many without food, water and shelter.

Myanmar’s embassy in Japan said on Facebook that on Wednesday, deaths rose to 3,003 with 4,515 injured and 351 missing, while rescuers scramble to find more.

However, conditions could get even tougher for the huge relief effort after weather officials warned unseasonal rain from Sunday to April 11 could threaten the areas hardest-hit by the quake, such as Mandalay, Sagaing and the capital Naypyidaw.

“Rain is incoming and there are still so many buried. And in Mandalay, especially, if it starts to rain, people who are buried will drown even if they’ve survived until this point,” an aid worker in Myanmar said.

The embassy in Japan added in its post that there have been 53 airlifts of aid to Myanmar, while more than 1,900 rescue workers arrived from 15 countries, including Southeast Asian neighbours and China, India and Russia.

According to state television, despite the devastation, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing will leave his disaster-stricken country on Thursday for a rare trip to a regional summit in Bangkok.

The visit is said to be an uncommon foreign visit for a general regarded as a pariah by many countries and the subject of Western sanctions and an International Criminal Court investigation.

Pascal Dozie, Founder Of Diamond Bank Passes Away At 85

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4 hours ago

April 8, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

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The founder of the defunct Diamond Bank Plc, Pascal Gabriel Dozie, has died at the age of 85.

According to Business Day, Dozie passed away in the early hours of Tuesday, April 8, 2025.

His death came just a day before his 86th birthday, following a battle with an age-related illness.

Dozie was best known as the founder of Diamond Bank, one of Nigeria’s most innovative financial institutions before its merger with Access Bank.

He served as the bank’s chairman before handing over leadership to his son, Uzoma Dozie.

Dozie is survived by his wife Chinyere Dozie, and five children among other relatives.

Security forces foil kidnapping in Katsina, one civilian killed

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19 hours ago

April 7, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

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A kidnapping attempt was foiled in the early hours of April 5, 2025, in Gidan Yan Ali, Kurba Village, Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, after security forces engaged armed bandits in a fierce gun battle.

Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that the assailants believed to be part of a larger criminal network stormed the village around 11:45 p.m., setting corn stalks ablaze and attempting to abduct women and livestock.

Prompt deployment of security personnel led to a swift response, forcing the bandits to flee into the nearby bush.

During the confrontation, a villager identified as 40-year-old Murtala Dayyabu Sidi was shot and killed by the attackers.

The intervention of security forces ensured the safe rescue of the kidnapped women and the recovery of stolen animals, which were returned to their rightful owners.

Investigations into the attack are ongoing.

Lagos: Cause of Ijora-Badia explosion revealed

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1 day ago

April 7, 2025

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Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service has revealed the real cause of the explosion that rocked the Ijora-Badia area of Lagos on Sunday afternoon, injuring no fewer than 15 people.

According to a statement by the Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, the explosion occurred around 4:10 p.m. inside a mini shop stocked with 25kg gas cylinders.

The shop, located within a bungalow that housed 15 self-contained rooms and seven other shops, reportedly had five gas cylinders at the time of the incident.

Adeseye attributed the explosion to the mishandling of gas, which caused a leak that was ignited by a nearby flame.

“It was a case of poor handling of gas products, which unfortunately allowed gas to escape and come in contact with a flame. This triggered the explosion,” she confirmed.

The resulting fire, she said, was promptly extinguished by a team of firefighters from the Sari Iganmu Fire Station, with support from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps, and LASAMBUS.

While no fatalities were recorded, 15 persons sustained varying degrees of burn injuries.

Adeseye noted that several victims were treated with first aid on-site, while others were taken to nearby hospitals for further medical care.

She also assured residents that the area has since been secured and normalcy restored.