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

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…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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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– ‘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.

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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.

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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”.

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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.

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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.

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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’ –

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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.

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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.

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– 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.

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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”.

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AFP

 

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17-year-old Nigerian Named World Best In English At 2025 TeenEagle Finals In London

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…Outperforms over 20,000 participants from 69 countries

Nafisa Aminu, a 17-year-old student of Tulip International College, Yobe State, has emerged world’s best in English at the 2025 TeenEagle Global Finals.

The 17-year-old was named the World Best in English Language Skills at the 2025 TeenEagle Global Finals held in London, United Kingdom.

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The TeenEagle competition is an internationally recognised contest that tests English proficiency, critical thinking, and communication skills, attracting students from both English-speaking and non-English-speaking nations.

Nafisa’s triumph was confirmed in a statement by the head of her family, Hassan Salifu, who attributed her success to “dedication, discipline, and the enabling support of the state government.”

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Representing Nigeria, Nafisa outperformed over 20,000 participants from 69 countries, a historic feat that has thrust her into the global academic spotlight and brought honour to Nigeria.

 

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FG Promotes 30 Senior NCoS Officers To Assistant Controller General

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The Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board has approved the promotion of 30 senior officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service to the rank of Assistant Controller General of Corrections.

The announcement was made in a press statement signed by the NCoS spokesperson Umar Abubakar, on Tuesday.

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“The Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board has approved the promotion of 30 Controllers of Corrections to the prestigious rank of Assistant Controller General of Corrections,” the statement read.

Abubakar noted that the promotions were made in line with CDCFIB’s commitment to “merit-based advancement, professional excellence, and the continuous strengthening of leadership within the Nigerian Correctional Service.”

READ ALSO:Customs Intercepts N1.7bn Falsely Declared Goods Across South-West Zone

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“Among the newly promoted officers are twenty-seven general duty officers who have demonstrated exceptional dedication, leadership, and operational competence in various formations across the country.

“In addition, three professional officers have also been elevated in recognition of their outstanding service and specialized contributions in the areas of Medical Laboratory Science, Nursing, and Public Health,” the statement read.

According to the statement, the promotion exercise was said to align with the ongoing reforms in the Service, a key part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

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The statement credited the reform momentum to the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, whose efforts were described as “unwavering” and “unprecedented.”

READ ALSO:Court Strips Transport Minister, CRFFN Regulatory Power Over Licensed Customs

Controller General of Corrections, Sylvester Nwakuche, congratulated the newly promoted officers, charging them to rise to the responsibilities of their new roles.

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“I urge them to redouble their effort to service delivery, strategic leadership, and the core mandates of reformation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of inmates,” he said.

He further stressed that the promotions are not merely rewards for past service but “a call to higher responsibility in line with global best practices in correctional management.”

“The Service remains committed to building a motivated, disciplined, and professional workforce capable of meeting the complex demands of modern corrections and public safety,” Nwakuche added.

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Adeleke Flies To US For Davido’s Wedding

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Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has travelled to the United States to attend the wedding ceremony of his nephew and music star, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido.

Recall, Davido confirmed that he and his wife, Chioma Avril Rowland, will have their white wedding in Miami, Florida, in August 2025.

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He made the announcement during an interview on The Breakfast Club, aired on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.

The governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, confirmed Adeleke’s trip in a statement issued on Tuesday, in response to concerns raised by the opposition All Progressives Congress over the governor’s whereabouts.

READ ALSO:Davido Thrills In Toronto, Brooklyn As US Tour Heats Up

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Governor Adeleke left Nigeria for the United States via the family’s private jet a few days ago for the wedding of the global music icon, his beloved nephew, David Adeleke.

“His Excellency is extending an invitation to the opposition party to attend the event and share in the joy of the occasion with the Adeleke family.

“Those unable to attend may join virtually,” Rasheed stated.

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He noted that Adeleke had not taken any official vacation since assuming office in November 2022 and said the current trip would be short.

READ ALSO:Davido Withdraws From 50 Cent’s London Concert

Additionally, from the November 2022 date, the governor has not gone on official vacation.

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“For this current trip, the Governor has again chosen to make it a short one to continually attend to crucial state functions.

“Meanwhile, the Governor is in constant communication with his deputy, Prince Kola Adewusi, who is supervising activities of the government,” Rasheed added.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Osun APC had accused Adeleke of leaving the state without informing residents or formally transmitting power to his deputy. The party described the governor’s absence as “abnormal.”

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READ ALSO:Davido, Asa To Perform At National Sports Festival’s Opening Ceremony In Abeokuta

In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, the party said, “The question being asked in hushed tones in some public places, inside commercial buses and by motorcycle riders and their passengers in the state, is where could be the whereabouts of their governor for this long.

“As the governor of all and sundry, we as a party need to know the whereabouts of the governor and who has been holding fort for him during his absence from the state since two weeks ago.

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“Did the governor duly transmit power to his deputy who is constitutionally covered to temporarily step into the shoes of his principal in his absence?”

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