Headline
South East Has Highest Percentage Of Hypertension Cases – Society

The Nigerian Hypertension Society on Monday said the South-East geopolitical zone bears the highest burden of hypertension in the country.
The President of the NHS, Prof Ayodele Omotoso, made this known in Abuja at the 23rd Annual General Meeting and scientific conference themed, “Tackling the burden of hypertension in Nigeria from primary to tertiary care,” and sub-themed, “Telemedicine as a tool for hypertension control in sub-Saharan Africa.”
Omotoso, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, and Consultant Cardiologist at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State, said the burden of hypertension in Nigeria is enormous and needs urgent attention.
He said, “Nationally, the prevalence is around 30-40 per cent across the board. But when you look at the distribution in the geopolitical zones in the country, we do know that in South East, we have about 44 per cent; in North-East, it is about 42 per cent, and in other areas, it is about 25-30 per cent across the various geopolitical zones.
READ ALSO: Police, Complainant Killed As Angry Mob Set Suspected Killer ablaze In Delta
“When you translate that to actual figures using the current population, you will know that the burden runs into millions. Let’s say we have 120 million in the adult range in the 200 million estimated Nigerian population, just look at 30 per cent of that, that is like saying we have about 40 million Nigerians with hypertension.
“If you look at the cost of this disease, not only the cost of treatment, but the cost in terms of days lost to ill health, and complications due to kidney failure, stroke, heart failure, and others, they have economic implications on the country.”
Also, a member of the Africa Regional Advisory Group of the International Society of Hypertension, Prof Solomon Kadiri, said hypertension has become a burden in the past few decades.
Kadiri, who is a nephrologist and the keynote speaker at the conference said, “The prevalence rate from many studies will be about 35-40 per cent in adults, meaning that one in three adults that you meet will be hypertensive. In 90 per cent of hypertension cases, there is no disease cause as such that could be identified. But there are risk factors like excessive intake of salt, obesity, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol consumption.
READ ALSO: Two Injured As DSS Officials, NSCDC, Private Guards Clash In Edo Hospital
“When a patient is diagnosed with hypertension, he should be told what the likely reasons are, even if the patient is taking medications for hypertension, he should be told to cut down on salt intake, lose weight, and become physically active.
“Nigerians need to be aware that hypertension is a problem, and they need to have their high pressure checked. Adults should have their blood pressure checked twice a year, if they have shown to be hypertensive, they should have their blood pressure checked more frequently.”
Also speaking, the Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee for the conference, Dr Manmak Mamven, said there is a need for a comprehensive and collaborative approach to combat hypertension as a silent killer.
“Hypertension is a major public health concern globally, and Nigeria is no exception. It is our responsibility as healthcare professionals to come together and address this challenge head-on,” Dr Mamven noted.
Mamven, who is also a Consultant Nephrologist at the University Of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja, said stress and substance abuse contribute to the prevalence rate of hypertension in the country.
READ ALSO: How Imo Monarch, Cop Suspected Killers Were Arrested — Police
“The stress going on in the country now is a factor and substance abuse. I have seen some of them coming to the hospital with hypertension, and when you dig deep you will find out that it is linked to substance abuse even in younger ones,” she said.
On her part, Dr Salma Anas, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on health matters said, the Federal Government is intensifying efforts at increasing awareness of the disease.
“Under the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu, we have policies on reducing the burden of hypertension. So, we have to go back to the drawing board and start intensifying awareness among the general population, also focusing on young people, and talking to them about healthy lifestyles.
“We need to do more on awareness creation, prevention interventions, and the community to spread the message. Collectively, we will be able to reduce the scourge of hypertension,” she assured.
Headline
White House Slams Trump’s Nobel Prize Snub

The White House lashed out at the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday after it awarded the peace prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and overlooked US President Donald Trump.
“The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace,” White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung said on X.
“President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will.”
READ ALSO:White House Threatens Mass Firings Amid Stalled Shutdown Talks
Since returning to the White House for his second term in January, Trump had repeatedly insisted that he deserved the Nobel for his role in resolving numerous conflicts — a claim observers say is broadly exaggerated.
Trump restated his claim on the eve of the peace prize announcement, saying that his brokering of the first phase of a ceasefire in Gaza this week was the eighth war he had ended.
But he added on Thursday: “Whatever they do is fine. I know this: I didn’t do it for that, I did it because I’ve saved a lot of lives.”
Nobel Prize experts in Oslo had insisted in the run-up to Friday’s announcement that Trump had no chance, noting that his “America First” policies run counter to the ideals of the Peace Prize as laid out in Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will creating the award.
AFP
Headline
Transgender Woman Jailed For Deceiving Man About Gender In UK

A British court has sentenced a transgender woman, Ciara Watkin, to 21 months in prison for deceiving a man into sexual activity by falsely claiming to be a biological female.
According to a BBC report on Friday, the victim told Durham Crown Court he would not have consented to the sexual encounter had he known Watkin was biologically male.
The court heard that Watkin, 21, from Thornaby in Stockton-on-Tees, was found guilty of sexual assault after jurors rejected her claim that the man “would have realised” her gender identity.
Recorder Peter Makepeace KC said he was “certain” the victim “fully believed from start to finish” that Watkin was a woman due to her “lies and deception.”
READ ALSO:NERC Transfers Regulation Of Electricity Market To Bayelsa
Watkin, who was born male and had used the name Ciara since childhood, had not undergone any medical transition or surgery, the BBC reported.
Both Watkin and the victim were 18 when they met on Snapchat, where she used a female cartoon character as her profile picture. They later met in person, leading to sexual contact. Prosecutor Paul Reid told the court that Watkin even claimed to be menstruating to stop the man from touching her below the waist.
When Watkin later confessed to being biologically male, the man said he was “physically sick” and immediately reported the matter to the police.
“He said he was shocked and upset about being deceived, adding that he felt ashamed, embarrassed, and had been ridiculed online due to Watkin’s actions and deception,” the report stated.
READ ALSO:Transgender Inmates Panic As Trump Orders Transfer To Men’s Prisons
The victim, who described himself as heterosexual, told the court he felt “part of his masculinity was taken away.”
Defence counsel Victoria Lamballe argued that Watkin’s actions were not “predatory or sadistic” but stemmed from “shame and a deep sense of discomfort” with her own body.
She said Watkin, who has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, identified as female from primary school and had endured years of bullying.
“It is hardly surprising that Watkin built up a façade and presented almost as a caricature of herself to mask the inner turmoil she feels at having been born into the wrong body,” Lamballe said, adding that Watkin “simply wanted to be loved.”
READ ALSO:Transgender Inmates Panic As Trump Orders Transfer To Men’s Prisons
However, Recorder Makepeace ruled that the victim was “totally deceived,” saying Watkin had lied to “get away” with her deception and was aware the man would not have consented if he knew her biological sex.
The judge also criticised Watkin’s attitude during the trial, describing her as “flippant, disinterested, and bored,” showing “not a shred of remorse.”
He said, “At the heart of this case was your frustration at wanting sexual experiences with heterosexual males, which, by definition, you needed to deceive to achieve.”
Watkin will serve her sentence in a male prison, where authorities said protective measures would be taken to ensure her safety. She will also remain on the sex offenders register for 10 years and has been issued a lifetime restraining order preventing contact with the victim.
Detective Constable Martin Scotson of Cleveland Police said Watkin “purposely concealed her sex in order for the sexual activity to take place,” adding that he hoped the conviction would allow the victim to “move forward with his life.”
Headline
Burkina Rejects US Deportees, Calls Trump’s Proposal Indecent

Captain-Ibrahim-Traore
Burkina Faso, ruled by a junta hostile to the West, has refused to take in people kicked out of the United States, in a snub to one of President Donald Trump’s signature migration policies.
Since Trump’s return to the White House, his administration has made deporting people to third countries — often to nations they have no connection to — part of a sweeping immigration crackdown.
In Africa, Eswatini, Ghana, Rwanda and South Sudan have all accepted people expelled from the United States in recent months. But late on Thursday, Burkina Faso’s foreign affairs minister said the west African country had refused Washington’s overtures.
READ ALSO:Junta-led Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger To Launch Common Passport
“Naturally, this proposal, which we considered indecent at the time, runs completely contrary to the principle of dignity,” Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore said on national television.
Hours earlier, the US embassy in the capital Ouagadougou announced the suspension of regular services for most visas for people living in Burkina Faso.
Instead, Burkinabe citizens will now have their services handled in Lome, the capital of neighbouring Togo.
“Is this a way to put pressure on us? Is this blackmail? Whatever it is… Burkina Faso is a place of dignity, a destination, not a place of expulsion,” Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore said.
READ ALSO:US Deportations ‘Profoundly Disturbing” — UN Official
Burkina Faso’s leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, styles himself as an anti-imperialist Pan-African strongman.
Since seizing power in a coup in September 2022, he has shunned former colonial master France and the wider West, forging closer ties with Russia instead.
- Politics5 days ago
Jonathan Dragged To Court Over Bid To Participate In 2027 Election
- News3 days ago
JUST IN: Court Orders IGP To Arrest Mahmood Yakubu, Ex-INEC Chairman
- Politics2 days ago
JUST IN: Council Of State Meets As Tinubu Presents Nominees For INEC Chair
- News5 days ago
Group Defends VC Selection At FUGUS, Alleges Sabotage By Petitioners
- News3 days ago
Group Throws Weight Behind Benin Monarch’s Decision On Iyaloja
- News4 days ago
Recruitment: Customs Announces Exam Date For Shortlisted Applicants
- News4 days ago
Yakubu Hands Over To New INEC Acting Chair
- News3 days ago
JUST IN: Tinted Permit Enforcement Placed On Hold Due To Court Order – Police
- News4 days ago
UNIBEN Bans Students’ Sign-out Celebration
- News3 days ago
Lagos Closes Adeniji Adele–CMS Lane For Six Weeks Of Repairs