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11 newborn babies die in hospital fire

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Eleven newborn babies died in a hospital fire in the western Senegalese city of Tivaouane late on Wednesday, President Macky Sall said.

“I have just learned with pain and dismay about the deaths of 11 newborn babies in the fire at the neonatal department of the public hospital,” Sall wrote on Twitter just before midnight (0000 GMT).

“To their mothers and their families, I express my deepest sympathy,” he tweeted.

The tragedy occurred at Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh Hospital in the transport hub of Tivaouane, and was caused by “a short circuit”, health minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr was quoted in media reports as saying.

The maternity unit was equipped to take care of 13 babies.

“At the time of the fire, there were 11, whom nurses were unable to save,” the minister said.

But according to the city’s mayor, Demba Diop, “three babies were saved”.

“My son was christened yesterday. He was only nine days old. The maternity ward was full and I don’t think there are any survivors,” one unidentified mother told the news website, Dakaractu.

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World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted that he was “beyond heartbroken with this tragic news.

“I’m sending my deepest condolences to the parents and families of the babies who lost their lives.”

“It is with horror and great pain that I learned of the death of 11 newborn babies at Tivaouane hospital. Let us pray for these innocent people who have disappeared. My deepest condolences to the bereaved parents,” said former prime minister Abdoul Mbaye.

According to local media, the Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh Hospital was newly inaugurated.

Health minister Sarr, who had been in Geneva attending a meeting with the World Health Organization, said “an investigation is under way to see what happened”.

The tragedy in Tivaouane comes after several other incidents at public health facilities in Senegal, where there is great disparity between urban and rural areas in healthcare services.

In the northern town of Linguere in late April, a fire broke out at a hospital and four newborn babies were killed. The town’s mayor cited an electrical malfunction in an air conditioning unit in the maternity ward.

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The accident on Wednesday comes over a month after the nation mourned the death of a pregnant woman who waited in vain for a Caesarean section.

The woman, named Astou Sokhna, had arrived at a hospital in the northern city of Louga in pain. The staff had refused to accommodate her request for a C-section, saying that it was not scheduled.

She died April 1, 20 hours after arrival.

Sokhna’s death caused a wave of outrage across the country over the dire state of Senegal’s public health system, and health minister Sarr acknowledged two weeks later that the death could have been avoided.

Three midwives — on duty the night Sokhna died — were sentenced on May 11 by the High Court of Louga to six months of suspended imprisonment for “failure to assist a person in danger” in connection to her case.

Amnesty International’s Senegal director Seydi Gassama said his organisation had called for an inspection and upgrade for neonatology services in hospitals across Senegal after the “atrocious” death of the four babies in Linguere.

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With the new tragedy, Amnesty “urges the government to set up an independent commission of inquiry to determine responsibility and punish the culprits, no matter the level they are at in the state apparatus”, he tweeted.

Opposition lawmaker Mamadou Lamine Diallo also responded with outrage to the Tivaouane blaze.

“More babies burned in a public hospital… this is unacceptable @MackySall,” he said.

“We suffer with the families to whom we offer our condolences. Enough is enough.”

AFP

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Two killed as fuel-laden tanker collides with truck in Lagos

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Two people were confirmed dead following an early morning collision between a fuel-laden tanker and a tipper truck on the Lekki–Epe Expressway, Sangotedo area of Lagos state.

In a statement on Saturday, Margaret Adeseye, controller-general of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, said the accident occurred in the early hours of the day, prompting officers to rush to the scene.

“It was reported that a speeding 20-tonne tipper truck from the Epe end rammed into a stationary 30-tonne gas tanker that failed to pull over from the highway,” the statement reads.

Adeseye said the collision sparked a fire that spread to three warehouses and 10 roadside shops, including a gym and a generator house, before it was eventually brought under control.

She added that a Total petrol filling station, fully loaded with a 33,000-litre PMS tanker, narrowly escaped a major explosion.

“After the blaze was extinguished, three Sienna buses, one Toyota Corolla, and a forklift parked within the affected area were recovered. Tragically, the tipper truck driver and his assistant, both adult males, were burnt beyond recognition, while the gas tanker driver escaped unhurt,” Adeseye said.

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The agency said that efforts are ongoing to remove the remains of both trucks from the highway, though normal traffic has largely resumed at the scene.

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Cocaine trafficking: Court convicts, fines 10 Filipinos $6m

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The federal high court in Lagos has convicted 10 Filipino sailors and their merchant vessel of trafficking 20 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Apapa seaport.

The sailors were arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in November 2025 at Apapa seaport.

The vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, with registration number 9760110, arrived in Nigeria from Santos in Brazil.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges and entered a plea bargain agreement.

The anti-drug agency had disclosed that its officers discovered the “Class A drug” buried under the ship’s cargo on Sunday, November 16, 2025.

The NDLEA arraigned the sailors and the vessel on a four-count charge.

The defendants are Eugene Quinos Corpuz; Mark Joseph Jardiniano; Alexis Navidad Evarrola; Francis Gerard Niones Carpio; Franz Jude Mayran; Mahinay Junniel Lagura; Mario Ganiban Malvar; Hormachuelos Lordito Guivencan; Joshua Emmanuel Hufanda; and Edwin Baltazar Reyes.

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In his judgment, Ayokunle Faji, the trial judge, found the vessel guilty for an offence under section 25 of the NDLEA Act.

The judge ordered the vessel to pay the sum of N100,000 penalty for the offence and a restitution in the sum of N5.3 million to the federal government.

The judge convicted three principal officers of the vessel who are the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants. They were asked to pay N100,000 each and a restitution of $100,000 each to the federal government.

After conviction, the judge ordered the 5th to 11th defendants to pay N100,000 each in addition to a restitution of $50,000 each.

According to the NDLEA, the total money to be paid to the federal government by the vessel and the 10 sailors is $6 million and N1.1million as restitution and penalty.

Reacting to the judgment, Mohammed Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, said the conviction of the vessel and its crew members is a “lesson to international drug cartels and their local collaborators that Nigeria’s territorial waters are no longer a playground for the illicit narcotics trade”.

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“Let this judgment be an unambiguous signal to every shipping line, vessel owner, and sailor worldwide that if you turn your ships into floating warehouses for illicit drugs, you will not only lose your freedom but also your assets,” Marwa said.

“We have moved beyond mere seizures; we are now hitting the syndicates where it hurts most, their pockets and their operational assets.”

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VIDEO: Man caught trying to lure child hawker for sex with ₦1,000

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A man has been caught on video while allegedly attempting to lure a young girl hawking avocados with ₦1,000 for sexual purposes.

The unfortunate incident, which surfaced in a viral video, was shared by content creator LordZeus in a post shared on IG on Monday, who confronted the suspect.

When questioned, the man denied the allegation and claimed he was the girl’s father.

But the child contradicted him, stating that he approached her and asked her to follow him to a secluded place so they could “touch body,” promising to give her ₦1,000. She added that when she refused, the man brought out the cash in an attempt to persuade her.

During the confrontation, some bystanders pleaded on behalf of the suspect, claiming he was mentally unstable and alleging that the girl was not the first child he had approached.

Reacting, LordZeus challenged the defence, questioning why alleged mental illness should excuse such behaviour toward a minor.

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He also used the moment to caution parents against sending young girls out to hawk, noting that female child hawkers are often

He wrote, “Parents please, no matter how hard life gets, do not allow your girl child especially underage to hawk on the streets alone. Even If they must hawk, hawk alongside them.

“They are constantly at risk of se*xual harassment, and many of them will never speak up. I’ve hawked before, so I know exactly what life on the street is like.

“Imagine if this man was able to manipulate the little girl with just 1,000 naira , this will be unimaginable.

“Ihe na-eme nu o. Let’s do everything possible to protect our girl children. Their safety and dignity must come first before any other thing. It can only get better ”

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