₦airaland Forum

Kano is in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 80 new cases recorded in the state on Thursday alone, making it the second in the country.
With 219 confirmed cases and three deaths attributed directly to the disease, Kano has overtaken Abuja in second place, with 178 cases and second only to Lagos with 976 cases.

With hundreds of deaths recorded in the state in the last couple of weeks, the state Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammed Garba said the deaths were unconnected to the COVID-19, but mostly caused by complications from other health conditions.
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire said the unexplained deaths were not out of the ordinary.
During a briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 earlier in the week, the minister said, “There’s national concern about the sharp increase of COVID-19 positive cases in Kano, concentrated in seven municipal council areas and also about certain so-called ‘unexplained’ deaths.
The authorities have explained that the latter were not out of the ordinary.”

After the story of the unexplained deaths on Tuesday, April 21, with 150 people buried within three days was disclosed, the state government at first denied the deaths before explaining that it was not unusual.
However, the authorities have decided to adopt verbal autopsy to determine the causes of the unexplained deaths as autopsy is frowned at by the “religion and culture of our people,” as the government said. Dr. Tijanni Hussein, the state coordinator, Technical Response Team on COVID-19, said they had since started investigations by administering questionnaires and conducting verbal autopsies to determine the causes of deaths and the exact figures. “We will get to the bottom of this. And whenever this investigation is concluded, we will make known our findings,” he said. However, concerns have continued to rise over the unexplained deaths, with very prominent senior citizens of the state passing away within days April 25 especially witnessed the passing away of dozens of prominent Kano citizens, amongst numerous others. Some of those who died on April 25 were the former chairman, of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (NEIC) during the Obasanjo administration from 1999 to 2003, Professor Ibrahim Ayagi. The late Ayagi was a schoolteacher, university lecturer and former commissioner in Kano State who oversaw two ministries at a time. He held various positions in different financial institutions in the country. Also, his contributions in the education sector, especially in the development of science secondary schools in Kano, have been lauded. Before his death, he was the chief executive officer of the prestigious Hassan Ibrahim Gwarzo Secondary School, named after his good friend, the late Grand Qhadi of Kano. The renowned economist, who grew up as an orphan, enrolled in school at the age eight and remained in the academic circle, rising to become a professor. He was a notable critic of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to a family source, Prof Ayagi, who was born in 1940, was ill for a long time. However, the exact illness he suffered from was not disclosed.
He was buried according to Islamic rites at the Dan Dolo Cemetery in the ancient city of Kano. On the same day, a former executive secretary of the State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB) during the Shekarau administration, Alhaji Adamu Isyaku Dal, died and was buried at Gandun Albasa Cemetery. A family friend told Giditrendz on Saturday that the late Alhaji Adamu, like Prof. Agayi, had been ill for a while, but his condition worsened in the last few days. Another high profile death recorded on the same day is that of a former editor of Triumph newspapers, Malam Musa Tijjani. He too died after a protracted illness and was buried the same day. Also Alhaji Garba Dambatta, a younger brother to the late Alhaji Magaji Dambatta, died early on that day and was interred at Dan Dolo.

“We are mourning the last of the family’s elderly member. He had been a father to all of us, but and as God willed, he is no more today. May his soul rest in peace,” one of his sons, Hussaini Dambatta said.
A famous Kannywood artist, Ado Gwanja, also lost his mother on that same day. She too was buried at Gandun Albasa Cemetery. Musa Gwanja, a family member, described her death as a vacuum that cannot be filled again. “Hajiya died during this period when the elderly are dying. To us, it is an epidemic, but as Muslims, we believe she has attained the shahada,’’ he said.
Also on the same day, Dr Sabo Kurawa, 75, a founding member of the Sociology Department of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), passed on after a brief illness. Sabo, who earned his PhD in 1977, retired from the BUK a few years ago.
He will always be remembered for his contributions to the establishment of the Department of Sociology in the university he served for decades. He too was buried at Dan Dolo. One of the most prominent deaths in that period was that of the doyen of Mass Communication at BUK, Prof. Balarabe Maikaba. He died on April 26, 2020 after a brief illness at his residence near the university. The father of 16 and husband of four wives was buried that evening. Prominent Kano women are also not left out in the season of deaths as Malama Halima Shitu, 55, a pioneer female Hisbah commander in Kano died on April 27.
The mother of six died after a brief illness, leaving behind her husband, Sheikh Abdulwahab Abdullah, a prominent Kano-based Islamic scholar and preacher.
Among her children is Malam Abdullah Abdulwahab, a system analyst at BUK. Malama Halima had contributed greatly to the development of the Kano Hisbah command. He also contributed to the development of Islamic scholarship in the state. She was the chairperson of the Association of Muslim Women in Africa (AMEWA).
She featured regularly in several radio and television programmes to educate the public on Islam. Also, Dr. Uba Adamu, a former sole administrator of Kano between 1970 and 1975, passed on the night of April 25. He left 17 children behind, including the vice chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Professor Abdallah Uba Adamu and Zahra’u Uba Adamu, a lecturer in the College of Arts, Science and Remedial Studies, Kano. According to his daughter, Malama Zahra’u, her father was ill for quite a long time before his death. “Baba is gone.
He has been a father and friend to all of us. May Allah forgive all his shortcomings, and may he make Aljanna Firdausi his final abode,” she said.
The late Adamu got his PhD in Political History at BUK and was a lecturer in the Kano State Polytechnic before he retired. Subsequent prominent deaths also include those of a former director of finance, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala, Alhaji Salisu Ado. He died Wednesday morning at Dala.
Unlike the other cases, Alhaji Ado was admitted with severe breathing difficulties. Also, a former commissioner for education and former executive director in one of the state’s agencies, Alhaji Aminu Yahya, passed away and was buried at GATC quarters, Kabuga, Kano. Hajiya Hamma Akilu, mother to a former director, Directorate of Military Intelligence, Brigadier -General Haliru Akilu, died at the age of 100 on Wednesday. Her son, General Akilu, was a high-ranking intelligence officer, who also served as director of the National Intelligence Agency and Chief of Defence Intelligence.

Her grandson, Malam Aminu Akilu, said his grandmother passed away on Wednesday morning after a protracted illness. She has since been buried in Tarauni. April 27 saw the passing on of Sheikh Tijjani Tukur Yola, 86, a former chief imam of Murtala Friday mosque. A former Grand Khadi of Kano State, Uztaz Dahiru Rabi’u, born 1948, also died.
According to family sources, the late Rabi’u had been battling an ailment before succumbing severe fever. Dr Ghali Kabir, a former head of the Department of Architecture, Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST), Wudil, also passed away.
The vice chancellor of the university, Prof. Shehu Alhaji Musa, announced Kabir’s death. Similarly, the first Hausa man to become a professor of Anatomy in Nigeria, Aliyu Umar Dikko, died on April 25, aged 65.
Before his death, he was the head of the School of Medicine, Maitama Sule University, Kano. He left behind a wife and seven children.
Alhaji Aliyu Daneji, father of the national coordinator, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr Sani Aliyu, also died. A source close to the family said Alhaji Daneji died Wednesday in Kano at the age of 96 after a protracted illness. Alhaji Daneji was a permanent secretary in the Kano State Ministry of Finance from 1972 to 1975.
He was also a district officer in Niger, Benue and Plateau states. He was also the chairman, Kano Cooperative Bank and Kano Foundation. In a condolence message, an elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, who worked with Daneji as permanent secretary while he was the commissioner for finance, described him as an astute, honest and dedicated civil servant.
The deceased, whose funeral prayers were observed early on Thursday at his Sabuwar Kofa residence, was buried the same day. Hundreds of people have died since the incidents were first reported. And the authorities are still investigating the causes of the deaths.



http://giditrendz.com/see-the-faces-of-kanos-many-deaths/

It’s not very long since we learned of WhatsApp’s plans to up its game to enable it to better compete with the likes of Skype and Zoom. A beta version of the ever-popular chat tool was found to show that there were plans to double the number of people who could take part of group video chats from four to eight.
The feature was soon added to the app’s release version. It began rolling out for iPhone users on April 27, and is now available to those with Android phones too.


As WhatsApp points out in a , there has been an increase in demand for group video calls because of the number of people around the world self-isolating because of the Covid-19 pandemic. So, for anyone who has been waiting to get involved in group video chats involving more than four people, the increase is great news.
The increase in video chat participants does not bring WhatsApp in line with Skype and Zoom – which support up to 50 or 100 participants respectively – but it’s still great news for anyone who is a WhatsApp user and who doesn’t want to switch to another tool.
It’s good to talk
One benefit WhatsApp video calls have over some other chat tools is that calls are protected by end-to-end encryption for added privacy and security.
Facebook doesn’t specify precisely which version of WhatsApp is needed to unlock eight-people video chats, just that you will have to install the ‘latest version’.
It’s worth noting that in order for a larger group call to take place, all of the participants need to be running an updated version of WhatsApp that supports the option.

The latest version of the app can be downloaded from either the App Store or Google Play.

Source:- http://giditrendz.com/update-whatsapps-eight-person-video-calls-are-now-available-to-everyone/

There is panic in Mangoro, Ogba, Agege, Iyana Ipaja and Dopemu areas of Lagos as suspected hoodlums are robbing residents.
In what appeared like a coordinated operation, the hoodlums were said to have arrived in okadas and buses, armed with different kinds of weapons.


Residents who spoke with Giditrendz CEO said the suspects looted food stores and warehouses in the areas.
“They came in at about 7pm this night with about 30 okadas and 10 5 buses,” a resident in Aluminium village in Dopemu, told Giditrendz
“Many houses and food shops have been robbed. In fact they also broke into some warehouses here and stole items.”
In Mangoro, another resident said they attacked people on the streets, snatching purses.
“Nowhere is safe in the area now. Those that were on the streets were attacked and they collected their purses. They also broke into houses and robbed people of their valuables.”
In Iyana Ipaja, a resident said after previous attacks, some youth in the area lit bonfires on the streets.
“We know they have been operating in nearby streets, but we won’t allow them to get into our streets. We will keep a night over this fire,” one of them at Iyano Ipaja said.
Bala Elkana, Lagos police spokesperson, however, accused those with the bonfires of causing panic in the areas.
“We have sent our rapid response squad there, and what we discover are youth of that area stepping out in the name of protecting their areas from hoodlums coming in,” he said.
“Then burning tyres in the name of securing, and this on its own is creating panic. We have sent a strong message, the order is stay at home. Everybody must stay at home. We have enough deployment all this while. We are not under any threat. Those youths are looking for an opportunity to be out of the house, so they are creating panic. There is adequate police patrol in the areas.”

Read the tweet below:

https://giditrendz.com/breaking-armed-robbers-attacking-residents-of-agege-mangoro-iyana-ipaja/

A patient has died of COVID-19 complication in a private hospital in Lagos, says the state Health Commissioner, Prof Akin Abayomi on Saturday (today).

Abayomi revealed this via his verified Twitter handle on Saturday while giving an update on coronavirus in the state.

The just-announced death brings the total of coronavirus death in the state to four.

He wrote:

“Eight new cases of COVID-19 infections on April 10, 2020. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Lagos State to 166.

“Three of the confirmed cases have been transferred to Ogun State which is their place of residence.

“However, additional seven COVID-19 patients, who have fully recovered, have been discharged after testing negative twice.

“The total number of COVID-19 patients discharged in Lagos State is now 46.

“We are however saddened by the death of another patient from COVID-19 related complications in a private hospital in Lagos.

“Please keep obeying social distancing rules to stay safe.”

SOURCE:- http://giditrendz.com/breaking-lagos-patient-dies-of-covid-19-complications-in-private-hospital/

Governor Aminu Bello Masari on Tuesday announced that a private medical practitioner in Daura, Dr. Aliyu Yakubu, died of COVID-19.

This is the first death from the disease in the state, Giditrendz reports.

The Governor made the disclosure at a press briefing in Katsina.

He said Yakubu travelled to Lagos recently and upon return to Katsina reported himself at Air Force Hospital, Daura where he died two hours later.

Masari said samples of Yakubu’ s blood was taken to Abuja where he was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19.

The late medical practitioner was also said to have hepatitis alongside hypertension.

“We have received a bad news of COVID-19. The deceased samples showed COVID-19 positive.
“Before his death, he was also diagnosed for hepatitis and hypertension, three years ago,” he said.

Source: https://giditrendz.com/katsina-records-first-coronavirus-death/

The Kwara State Technical Committee on COVID-19 has announced the total lockdown of Offa community beginning from 6pm on Wednesday (tomorrow).

This was disclose by kwara State Deputy Governor, Mr. Kayode Alabi, at a press briefing held on Tuesday. He noted that the measure is to avoid the spread of COVID-19 disease in the state .

More to follow...

Source:- https://giditrendz.com/breaking-news-kwara-govt-orders-total-lockdown-in-offa-over-virus/

Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele has arrived the Ogba Magistrate Court 1 for violating lockdown directives by the Federal Government.

Also being charged to court by the police command in Lagos, is Akindele’s husband, JJC SKillz who turned himself in after an order demanding that he makes himself available.

The actress who celebrated her husband’s birthday in a lavish house party on Saturday, April 4, was picked up by the police on Sunday at her residence.

The court proceedings is yet to start.

More details soon...

Source: https://giditrendz.com/lockdown-order-funke-akindele-husband-arrives-court/

Nigerian Afrobeats singer and songwriter David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido has tested positive for COVID-19.
This was confirmed by Davido himself on his Snapchat where he revealed that he took a test after his baby mama, Chioma tested positive for Coronavirus.

The ‘Fall’ hitmaker implored fans to say a prayer for him as his life is in danger. See a screenshot of his post below;

More to follow...

https://giditrendz.com/davido-tests-positive-for-coronavirus/