Attempt
Official: Why inmates of Kano prison rioted
The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) has clarified why there was violent protest among inmates of Kurmawa Custodial facility in Kano metropolis on Thursday evening. The Public Relations Officer, NCoS Kano State Command, DSC Musbahu Kofar-Nasarawa, told newsmen on Friday in Kano that the riot was not over alleged poor quality food in the facility as was speculated. Kofar-Nasarawa who said that normalcy had been restored as the inmates were confined and security beefed up at the facility said the prisoners rioted in protest against attempt to take away prohibited items from them. “There was an attempt by some inmates to cause pandemonium in the prison yard, however, the situation was brought under control by concerted efforts of the warders and security operatives. “The inmates are not pr...
NDDC: Ijaw youths tackle minister over forensic audit, sole administrator’s tenure
Bayelsa youths under the aegis of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide accused the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio of overseeing an unending forensic audit and illegal extension of the tenure of the sole administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Efiong Akwa, describing it as a delib-erate attempt to delay the constitution of a substantive NDDC board. According to the youths, though the conduct of the forensic audit was ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari and supported by the stakeholders from the region, Senator Godswill Akpabio has turned the forensic audit into an unending exercise used to perpetuate corruption and further bleed the commission of scarce funds. The spokesman of the IYC, Comrade Ebilade Ekerefe, who made the statement...
NIMASA: SPOMO act improving Nigeria’s image
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) says the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act, is improving Nigeria’s image in its fight against piracy and sea robbery. Dr Bashir Jamoh, Director-General, NIMASA, said this in a statement on Sunday in Lagos. He said that the Act signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in June, 2019 was to end piracy and sea robbery in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea. He made this known at the maiden edition of the Nigerian Admiralty Law Colloquium organised recently in Lagos by the agency, in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute (NJI). The colloquium had the theme, “Achieving Maritime Safety, Security and Shipping Development (TRIPODS) through Enforcement of Legislations and the Implementation of th...
Teen stabs man to death over phone in Adamawa
A teenager stabbed to death his 21-year-old friend said to have stolen his N55,000 mobile phone, police in Adamawa said. The 18-year-old Abdulkarrm was arrested after he stabbed Ayuba Hassan in Mubi. Abdulkarim told journalists that he and two other friends had gone home to bed after a failed attempt to steal jerrycans of petrol from a filling station in Mubi. He said he realised his mobile phone was missing when he woke up at night, and his two friends told him only Ayuba visited the house while he was asleep. When he confronted Ayuba the next day, argument ensued and soon the situation degenerated into a heated argument. Then the duo accompanied by two of their friends agreed to go to the riverside and fight. Abdulkarim further stated that on their way to the riverside, Ayuba threw a sto...
N60 billion mint: PDP demands sack of finance minister
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called for the sack of Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, over what it described as an attempt to mislead Nigerians. The call follows her denial of the revelations by the Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, that N60 billion was printed in March to support federal allocation to states.” Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki had earlier in the week, lamented the sorry state of the nation’s economy, stressing that the federal government had to order the printing of currency to the tune of N60 billion to share among the tiers of government, a claim dismissed by the Finance, Budget and National Planning Minister, Zainab Ahmed. In a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, national publicity secretary of the party, the PDP maintained that “the admission by Central B...
Mexico president backs extension of supreme court head’s term, sparks backlash
Mexico’s Senate on Thursday voted to extend the term of the president of the Supreme Court for an extra two years, a move criticized by opposition lawmakers who called it a bid by the ruling party to strengthen its hold on the country’s institutions. Arturo Zaldivar, who has been publicly supportive of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, was appointed in January 2019 with a term slated to end on Dec. 31, 2022. If the modification to extend his term passes in the lower house of Congress, he would hold his position until Nov. 30, 2024. Lawmakers approved the proposal by a wide majority, the Senate said in a statement. Both houses of Congress are controlled by the ruling party MORENA and its allies. The Federal Judiciary Board, whose president is Zaldivar, said it was not involved with the...
Soldiers destroy illegal refinery in Rivers
News Agency of Nigeria Soldiers of the 144 Battalion, Asa, Ukwa West council area of Abia State, have reportedly destroyed an illegal oil refinery located in Odogba community in Rivers State. Newsmen gathered that the operation was carried out in conjunction with the operatives of the Department of the State Services ,DSS, on joint patrol within Owaza area,a boundary community between the two States. Military sources stated that no arrest was made as the operators fled before the arrival of the security men. However, the security team recovered a commercial bus suspected to be used in ferrying stolen crude after the driver abandoned the car and ran into the bush. Newsmen further gathered that the driver of the bus locked the steering of the car which frustrated the attempt to take the car ...
Eight killed in fresh Plateau attack
Eight people have been killed in a night attack by unidentified assailants at a mining site in Kuru, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau. The incident was said to have occurred on Friday night. Governor Simon Lalong has directed security agencies in the state to fish out the perpetrators of the act. He said the attack was another desperate attempt by criminals to destabilize the state and create fear among the people. While commiserating with the families of those killed and those who sustained injuries, Lalong reiterated his charge to security agencies to resolve such attacks as excuses of “unknown gunmen” will no longer be tolerated. Governor Lalong also advised the citizens to assist law enforcement agencies with useful intelligence, leveraging on structures such as the tradition...
Amnesty: Russia may be ‘slowly’ killing Alexey Navalny
Alexey Navalny, the prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is imprisoned in conditions that amount to torture and may slowly be killing him, human rights group Amnesty International said on Wednesday. Navalny, who last year was poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent, was now being subjected to sleep deprivation and did not have access to a doctor he could trust in jail, it said. “Russia, the Russian authorities, may be placing him into a situation of a slow death and seeking to hide what is happening to him,” Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general, said ahead of the publication of the group’s annual report. “Clearly the Russian authorities are violating his rights. We have to do more,” she said. “[They] have already attempted to kill him, they are n...
Gunmen abduct APC caretaker committee chairman in Rivers
The Rivers Chapter of the APC has announced the abduction of Hiasine Wiye, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of APC in Khana Local Government area of the State. He was kidnapped in his residence on on Sunday evening, according to the party in a statement issued in Port Harcourt by its Spokesman, Ogbonna Nwuke. He expressed dismay at the abduction of a grassroots member of the party. The party said the abduction of Wiye without any trace confirmed the claim that even ordinary citizens resident in Rivers State are not safe. “The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the APC in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State was snatched on Sunday from his home by unknown persons. “We have been briefed that he was taken into captivity at a time when well meaning people were celebrating the resurrection ...
APC chieftain writes on ’21 political lies in Nigeria’
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, says his book on “21 political lies in Nigeria” is to educate the electorate on the antics of politicians during elections. Oyedepo said this on Monday in Ilorin while speaking at the presentation of the book. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the 21 chapter, 140 pages book chronicled many lies told by politicians to win votes during campaigns. According to Iyiola, the book is targeted mainly to educate the electorate on how to vote for candidates seeking their franchise, adding that if the electorate votes wrongly, it will live with them for another four years. He said: “I sat down and examined issues through which we win election and I discovered that some of these issues may be there. “They are imp...
OPC berates ex-COAS for equating group with Boko Haram
The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) yesterday berated a former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, for comparing the group with the terrorist organisation, Boko Haram. In a statement, the group’s newly-elected President, Mr. Wasiu Afolabi, said the former army chief displayed a dangerous level of mischief, prejudice and narrow-mindedness by equating what it termed a pro-democracy group like the OPC with a world-acclaimed terrorist organisation. Afolabi maintained that the comments by Dambazzau were an attempt to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it, insisting that the move will not work. “We shall not succumb to this cheap attempt at blackmail and negative profiling. OPC is not, has never been and will never be a terrorist organisation. Nobody should link us or lik...