THERE is no disputing the fact that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the cardinal events that give Christianity its essence. If Christ had not died he would not have paid back the life man lost in the Garden of Eden and if he had not risen there would have been no hope of life for all those who had served God faithfully all through the ages. (I Corinthians 15:12ff)

Senator Kawu Peto Dukku representing Gombe North Senatorial District is dead. He died on Friday in Kaduna, Senate spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze, announced in a terse press statement yesterday.

SOME people refer to him as a gadfly. Others call him a rabble-rouser, but certainly Pastor Tunde Bakare is a gospel preacher nobody can ignore. At least not any more. His recent foray into the civil rights advocacy is not surprising to many admirers. Some even say, that is what he had always been—a religious cum social crusader. Trained as a lawyer, Bakare, like the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, has virulently attacked every government in power and in return had his travelling documents impounded several times. In this interview at a function in Lagos, he spoke on several national issues…

TWO suspected militants were shot dead in an exchange of gunfire with men of the anti-terrorism squad, ATS, in Delta State, weekend, while five persons were feared dead and no fewer than 10 seriously injured in an Easter tragedy on the East-West road yesterday evening.

Dr Abel Damina is the national chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) Youth Wing. He speaks on the on-going electoral reforms and the Jos crises, saying the PFN will be mobilizing some 50 million Christian youths from across the country to register ahead of the 2011 elections and also stop politicians from rigging the polls.