Across the thirty-six states of Nigeria, these are the five biggest stories you shouldn’t miss out on:

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Lagos approves 21-year jail term for cultists

Lagos Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has approved a bill, Prohibition of Unlawful Societies and Cultism of 2021 into law, signing a 21-year jail term for convicted cultists in the state – The Punch reports

In February,  The state House of Assembly passed an anti-cultism bill, which also proscribes a 15-year jail term for anyone found guilty of abetting cultists and residents who willfully allow their properties to be used as meeting points by cultists.

“The anti-cultism law repeals the Cultism (Prohibition) Law of 2007 (now Cap. C18, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015) and provides for more stringent punitive measures, as well as makes its application all-encompassing and applicable to the general public, as against the restriction of the previous law to students of tertiary institutions,” the statement read in parts

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LGBT: God can’t bless sin – Pope

The Pope has decreed that the Catholic Church will not bless any LGBT marriages since God “cannot bless sin,” – The Cable reports

According to reports from Associated Press (AP), the Vatican’s Orthodoxy office broke the news in a statement on Monday, 15th March, as a formal response to questions bordering on if Catholic clerics have the authority to bless gay unions.

The two-page response was signed by Pope Francis and published in seven languages.

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COVID-19: Nigeria still okays AstraZeneca vaccine

As the debate over the safety of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine continues, The Federal Government of Nigeria assured its safety as the country distributes almost four million doses of the vaccine – Premium Times reports

The AstraZeneca vaccine has been suspended in at least three European countries – Germany, France and Italy. However, the Nigerian government assured Nigerians that it had tested the vaccines and they were safe for use, echoing the view of the World Health Organisation and many other countries including the UK.

“The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines have been distributed to all states except Kogi state,” Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, said at the weekly briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.

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CAN sues FG over CAMA

The Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN) has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government over the just controversial Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (CAMA) – The Guardian reports

The suit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, shows that CAN is challenging the legality and some provisions of the law with which it is not comfortable.

Joseph Bade Daramola, the association’s General Secretary, disclosed the development, in a statement, Monday, 15th March in Abuja. According to Joseph, CAN resolved to go to court after all attempts to convince the Federal Government on why it should not intervene or interfere with the management of the Church in the country through any of its agencies, failed.

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Rivers elders, youths disown Dokubo’s Biafra

Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike and elders and youths from the Niger Delta have distanced themselves from the declaration of Biafra by ex-agitator Alhaji Asari Dokubo – The Nation reports

The Federal Government described Dokubo’s formation of Biafra Customary Government as a “theatre of the absurd by a joker seeking attention’’.

Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed, speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria on the development in Lagos, said that The President will not be distracted by the absurdity.