News
Francis Laid To Rest As 400,000 Mourn Pope ‘With An Open Heart’

…I Drove 16 Hours To Be At The Funeral – 16-year-old Germany Student
Pope Francis was laid to rest in Rome Saturday after a Vatican funeral for the “pope among the people” attended by hundreds of thousands of mourners and world leaders including US President Donald Trump.
Around 400,000 people packed St Peter’s Square and lined the streets in Rome to say goodbye to the Argentine pontiff, a champion of the poor who had led the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics since 2013.
After a solemn funeral in front of hushed crowds, Francis’s plain wooden coffin — a testament to a life of humility — was driven slowly to Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore church, where he will be interred in a private ceremony.
Guatemalan Maria Vicente, 52, holding a rosary in her hands, cried as she watched the coffin being carried into Santa Maria Maggiore, the pope’s favourite Rome church.
“It made me very sad. It’s touching, that he left us like that,” she said.
Fourteen white-gloved pallbearers carried the coffin into the church, as children placed baskets of flowers at the altar and a choir sang prayers.
The marble tomb of the Catholic Church’s first Latin American leader is inscribed with just one word: “Franciscus”, his name in Latin.
More than 50 heads of state were present at the funeral, including Trump — who met several world leaders in a corner of the basilica beforehand, notably Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, in their first face-to-face since their Oval Office clash in February.
READ ALSO: Obi Joins Global Dignitaries At Pope Francis’ Lying State In The Vatican
– ‘An open heart’ –
Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, was “a pope among the people, with an open heart”, who strove for a more compassionate, open-minded Catholic Church, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said in his homily.
There was applause from the masses gathered under bright blue skies as he hailed the pope’s “conviction that the Church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open”.
Francis sought to steer the centuries-old Church into a more inclusive direction during his 12-year papacy, and his death prompted a global outpouring of emotion.
Maria Mrula, 28, a student from Germany, said she drove 16 hours to be at the funeral.
“Giving to the poor and being with the poor”, Francis had inspired many, she said.
“The Church is alive,” she said. “It was great being here.”
Italian and Vatican authorities mounted a major security operation for the ceremony, with fighter jets on standby and snipers positioned on roofs surrounding the tiny city state.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Pope Francis Was Killed By COVID-19 Vaccine — Pastor Oyakhilome
Red-robed cardinals and purple-hatted bishops sat on one side of the altar in St Peter’s Square during the funeral, with world dignitaries sitting opposite.
In front of the altar lay the pope’s simple cypress coffin, inlaid with a pale cross.
– ‘Bridges not walls’ –
The funeral sets off the first of nine days of official Vatican mourning for Francis, who took over following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.
After the mourning, cardinals aged under 80 will gather for the conclave to elect a new pope from among their number.
Many of Francis’s reforms angered traditionalists, while his criticism of injustices, from the treatment of migrants to the damage wrought by global warming, riled many world leaders.
Yet the former archbishop of Buenos Aires’s compassion and charisma earned him global affection and respect.
“His gestures and exhortations in favour of refugees and displaced persons are countless,” Battista Re said.
READ ALSO: Pope Francis Stops Using Oxygen Mask, Vatican Says
He recalled the first trip of Francis’s papacy to Lampedusa, an Italian island that is often the first port of call for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, as well as when the Argentine celebrated mass on the border between Mexico and the US.
Trump’s administration drew the pontiff’s ire for its mass deportation of migrants, but the president has paid tribute to “a good man” who “loved the world”.
Making the first foreign trip of his second term, Trump sat among dozens of leaders from other countries — many of them keen to bend his ear over a trade war he unleashed, among other subjects.
The White House said Saturday that the president had a “very productive” meeting with Zelensky before the funeral.
Kyiv published a photo of the encounter, the two men sitting face to face in red and gold chairs in the basilica, as well as another showing Zelensky huddled with Trump, Britain’s Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
In the homily, Battista Re highlighted Francis’s incessant calls for peace, and said he urged “reason and honest negotiation” in efforts to end conflicts raging around the world.
READ ALSO: Tears, As Jnr. Pope Is Laid To Rest In Enugu
“‘Build bridges, not walls’ was an exhortation he repeated many times,” the cardinal said.
Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden also attended the funeral, alongside UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, and Lebanon’s Joseph Aoun.
Israel — angered by Francis’s criticism of its conduct in Gaza — sent only its Holy See ambassador. China, which does not have formal relations with the Vatican, did not send any representative.
– ‘Brought them together’ –
Italian mourner Francesco Morello, 58, said the homily about peace was a “fitting, strong and beautiful message”.
Of the world leaders gathered, Morello noted: “He could not bring them together in life but he managed in death.”
Francis died of a stroke and heart failure less than a month after he left hospital where he had battled pneumonia for five weeks.
The Church’s 266th pope loved nothing more than being among his flock, taking selfies with the faithful and kissing babies, and made it his mission to visit the peripheries, rather than mainstream centres of Catholicism.
His last public act, the day before his death, was an Easter Sunday blessing of the entire world, ending his papacy as he had begun it — with an appeal to protect the “vulnerable, the marginalised and migrants”.
The Jesuit chose to be named after Saint Francis of Assisi, saying he wanted “a poor Church for the poor”, and living at a Vatican guesthouse rather than the papal palace.
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Catholics around the world held events to watch the proceedings live, including in Buenos Aires, where Francis was born Jorge Bergoglio in the poor neighbourhood of Flores in 1936.
“The pope showed us that there was another way to live the faith,” said Lara Amado, 25, in the Argentine capital.
– Refused to judge –
Francis’s admirers credit him with transforming perceptions of the Church and helping revive the faith following decades of clerical sex abuse scandals.
He was considered a radical by some for allowing divorced and remarried believers to receive communion, approving the baptism of transgender believers and blessings for same-sex couples, and refusing to judge gay Catholics.
But he also stuck with some centuries-old dogma, notably holding firm on the Church’s opposition to abortion.
Francis strove for “a Church determined to take care of the problems of people and the great anxieties that tear the contemporary world apart”, Battista Re said.
“A Church capable of bending down to every person, regardless of their beliefs or condition, and healing their wounds”.
AFP
News
Group Throws Weight Behind Benin Monarch’s Decision On Iyaloja

Group known as Edo Art and Cultural Heritage Institute (EACHI) has thrown its weight behind Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, on the royal father’s stance on the traditional leadership of markets in the Benin Kingdom.
A statement isdued by Okpioba Osaro Idemudia, on behalf of the group, said the “institute aligns with the Oba’s stance that the Iye-Eki is the only recognized traditional head of the markets, and we believe that this position should be respected and preserved in accordance with our cultural heritage.
“EACHI stands firm on the ground that the Iye-Eki holds a significant and revered position in the Benin Kingdom, serving as the main market traditional head. We believe that any attempts to impose external leadership structures that contradict our cultural norms and traditions would undermine the rich heritage of the Benin people.
READ ALSO: Benin Monarch To Tinubu’s Daughter: Do You Know Role Of Iyeki In Benin Culture?
“We are proud of our royal rather, for his unwavering commitment to upholding the cultural values and traditions of the Benin Kingdom.
“EACHI reassures the people of Edo State and the broader community that we will continue to support and promote the preservation of our rich cultural heritage.”
The group, while calling on Edo sons and daughters in home and in diaspora to “stand in unity to support our royal father Oba Ewuare II’s disapproval of IYALOJA,” commended
Edo market women for talking a bold stand against the imposition of IYALOJA
News
JUST IN: Tinubu’s Minister Resigns Amid Allegations

The Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Geoffrey Nnaji, has resigned from President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet amid controversies surrounding his academic records and allegations of certificate forgery.
Nnaji, who was appointed in August 2023, announced his resignation in a letter to the President on Tuesday, expressing appreciation for the opportunity to serve.
Confirming the development in a statement on Tuesday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has accepted the resignation of Geoffrey Uche Nnaji, the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, following some allegations against him. President Tinubu appointed Nnaji in August 2023.
READ ALSO:Tinubu Appoints New Heads For Key Agencies
“He resigned today in a letter thanking the President for allowing him to serve Nigeria. Nnaji said he has been a target of blackmail by political opponents. President Tinubu thanked him for his service and wished him well in future endeavours.”
Nnaji’s resignation comes amid a lingering controversy over alleged certificate forgery and questions surrounding his academic qualifications from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Nnaji and the Enugu State Government had traded words over allegations that he presented forged certificates.
READ ALSO:DSS Arraigns Sowore Over Anti-Tinubu Post
The dispute intensified after the Federal High Court in Enugu rejected Nnaji’s bid to stop the University of Nigeria from releasing his academic records.
The court had ruled that the institution was within its rights to release the minister’s academic details in response to a freedom of information request, a decision that fuelled further public scrutiny.
Nnaji, however, maintained that he was being blackmailed by political opponents determined to tarnish his reputation.
News
UNIBEN Bans Students’ Sign-out Celebration

The University of Benin (UNIBEN) has prohibited all forms of sign-out celebrations by graduating students.
The ban is contained in a circular by the university’s Registrar, Mr Ademola Bobola, on Tuesday in Benin.
In the circular addressed to members of the university community, the management warned that violators risk severe disciplinary actions, including rustication, expulsion, or withdrawal of certificate.
Bobola said the decision was reached at a meeting on Monday, where it reaffirmed an earlier resolution of the university’s Senate banning such activities on campus.
READ ALSO:UNIBEN Bars 5000 Students From Writing Exam
“The management declared that no sign-out celebration of any kind, including signing on T-shirts and playing of music, will be tolerated,” he said.
He stated that the university would not condone any form of disorderly conduct or unauthorised gathering during or after examinations.
“Indiscriminate parading around the campuses in any brand of vehicle will not be permitted,” the circular warned.
According to him, unauthorised vehicles will not be allowed into the campuses all through the last week of the second semester examination.
READ ALSO:UNIBEN Releases Screening Results, Begins Admission Process
“The management also prohibited large gatherings around faculties, schools, or institutes after examinations.
“Photographers will not be permitted to put up photo stands or galleries for the purpose of such celebration,” he said.
He said the management equally cautioned parents and guardians of final-year students against visiting campus premises during the final days of examinations.
READ ALSO:UNIBEN Appoints New Vice Chancellor
“Parents and guardians of final-year students are advised to stay away from the Faculty, School, or Institute premises, especially on the last day of examination,” he said.
Bobola emphasised that the university’s stance was aimed at maintaining order, discipline, and academic decorum on campus.
“Members of the university community are kindly invited to note the above position for strict compliance.
“Any violation will attract severe disciplinary sanctions, including withdrawal of certificate, rustication, and expulsion of violators,” he warned.
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