Cases
EKEDC urges customers to shun unauthorised personnel
Stock Photo Eko Electricity Distribution Company has advised its customers to shun illegal activities and the use of unauthorised personnel within its network. Godwin Idemudia, General Manager, Corporate Communications, EKEDC, gave the advice in a statement issued on Monday in Lagos. Idemudia said the advice followed reports from customers of cases of extortion and illegal connections by persons disguising as EKEDC officials. He urged the customers to be wary of unlicensed contractors who go about deceiving customers and fleecing them whilst perpetrating illegal activities. According to him, such activities include illegal connection, meter bypass and energy theft. “We advise and we will continue to appeal to our customers to shun all illegal activities and report them to us. “Also, we als...
Belarus’s forced landing of Lithuania-bound Ryanair plane sparks outrage
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania to land on Sunday in Minsk, where a Belarusian opposition activist on board was detained, prompting international condemnation. EU member Lithuania urged the European Union and NATO to respond, Germany called for an immediate explanation and Poland’s prime minister called it a “reprehensible act of state terrorism”. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said Belarus’s action was “utterly unacceptable”. The aircraft, flying from Athens to Vilnius, had almost reached Lithuania when it changed direction and was escorted to Minsk, the Belarusian capital, after reports that it had explosives on board, according to an online flight tracker and BelTA state news agency. Belarusian law e...
Nigeria records 49 new coronavirus infections
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has registered 49 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,901. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Wednesday. According to the centre, no new death linked to COVID-19 was recorded in the past 24 hours. The public health agency noted that the newly recorded infections raised the country’s tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 165,901 and the death toll from the disease to 2,067. It disclosed that additional four people have been successfully treated and have been discharged from its isolation centre, bringing the active caseload across the country to more than 7,300. The NCDC noted that additional recoveries reported on Wednesday increased the country’s numbe...
Zimbabwe reports first cases of Indian coronavirus variant
Zimbabwe has detected the first cases of the new coronavirus variant that emerged in India, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said on Wednesday, adding that all travellers from the Asian nation would be required to undergo mandatory quarantine. Chiwenga, who also doubles as Zimbabwe’s health minister, said in a statement the cases had been detected among a group of people in the central town of Kwekwe after a student returned from India on 29 April. “People travelling from or transiting from India will be subject to mandatory quarantine at a designated quarantine centre and at their own cost,” Chiwenga said. Travellers from India would be subjected to a Covid-19 test on arrival even if they have been tested in their country of origin. Zimbabwe has recorded 38 595 Covid-19 cases and 1 583...
Nigerian anti-graft agencies urged to beam searchlight on professional bodies
Human rights activist, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), members of civil society groups and others have called on anti-graft agencies to beam their searchlight on professional bodies in the country if the fight against corruption must be successful. Falana and others are of the opinion that until members of professional bodies who are found to have aided crimes and criminality are sanctioned, corruption will continue to be on the rise. Falana, Chairman, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Olarenwaju Suraj, and Executive Secretary, Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACAC), Mr Sadiq Radda, argued that professionals such as lawyers, accountants, bankers etc should be made to face the same punishment alongside their criminal clients. They made the suggestions on Wednesday...
Ogun governor suspends aide arrested for ‘fraud’ in US
The governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, has suspended his aide, Abidemi Rufai, who was arrested in the United States for an alleged $350,000 (about N140 million) COVID-19 unemployment fraud. Kunle Somorin, Abiodun’s chief press secretary, confirmed the suspension to newsmen on Tuesday. This was also confirmed to newsmen by the chief press secretary to Abiodun, Kunle Somorin. “Our position is that the law should take its course,” Somorin said in a WhatsApp interview. “Meanwhile, the governor has ordered his immediate suspension from office to answer charges against him.” Sources within the government told newsmen that the governor took the action immediately he was briefed about Rufai’s arrest. This newspaper earlier reported that Rufai, Senior Special Assistant to Abiodun, was arrested l...
Baba Ijesha granted bail
Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James, better known as Baba Ijesha, who was detained by police for alleged sexual assault has been granted bail. His lawyer, Adesina Ogunlana, confirmed this to newsmen on Monday. “He has been granted bail about one hour ago. We are working to perfect the bail. He was granted bail on health grounds. He has not been released. He will be released after his bail conditions have been perfected,” he said. According to the lawyer, among the bail conditions listed for the release of the actor are two reliable sureties – one of them must be a level 10 officer, a direct blood relation, and N500,000 bail bond in like sum. It was gathered that Baba Ijesha was granted bail when magistrates went around police stations across the state, hearing cases of some suspects. Ogunlan...
Bodies of coronavirus victims among those dumped in India’s Ganges – document
Bodies of COVID-19 victims have been found dumped in some Indian rivers, a state government said in a letter seen by Reuters, the first official acknowledgement of an alarming practice it said may stem from poverty and fear of the disease in villages. Images of corpses drifting down the Ganges river, which Hindus consider holy, have shocked a nation reeling under the world’s worst surge in infections. Although media have linked the recent increase in the numbers of such bodies to the pandemic, the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, home to 240 million people, has until now not publicly revealed the cause of the deaths. “The administration has information that bodies of those who have succumbed to COVID-19 or any other disease are being thrown into rivers instead of being disposed of as per p...
Lagos recovers N50 million over fraudulent real estate activities
The Lagos State Government on Tuesday said it had recovered more than N50 million from parties involved in illegal real estate transaction activities. Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, Special Adviser to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Housing, made the disclosure during a news conference in Ikeja. It was to give account of activities in the housing sector for the 2nd year anniversary of the Sanwo-Olu-led administration of the Governor. Benson-Awoyinka said that the agency had successfully mediated in about 55 out of 150 petitions/complaints between property developers, landlords, potential tenants and tenants. She said that 50 cases were adjourned for further mediation while 40 were referred to appropriate agencies, with five cases in courts in Ketu, Ajah, Ikorodu, Gbagada and Yaba. The special advise...
Police recover stolen car within three hours in Ebonyi
The Police in Ebonyi on Monday said it recovered a car that was snatched from its owner at gunpoint within three hours of the incident. Mrs Loveth Odah, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Abakaliki. Odah also said three armed robbers were arrested. She said the men of the command were on patrol when the car was said to have been snatched and that they immediately ignited their investigative prowess, which eventually led to the recovery of the car. According to her, the car in question was later handed over to the owner. “The police trailed the armed robbers who used the car for robbery operation but had to abandon it immediately the police closed in on them,” Odah said. She, however, debunked social media reports alleging ...
UEFA ‘seriously considering’ switching Champions League final to Wembley
Europe’s governing body, UEFA, are reported to be ‘seriously considering’ switching the upcoming Champions League final to Wembley, the clash set to be an all-English affair. At present, the final is set to be played in Turkey’s capital Istanbul, at Ataturk Olympic Stadium, the arena having already missed out on hosting the showpiece last season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the last phase of the knockout stage having been moved to Portugal. However, despite missing out on hosting last year’s final, they could well be set to suffer the same fate this term, amid calls to move the final to England, after both Manchester City and Chelsea progressed from their semi-final encounters with Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, respectively. With an all-English final on the way, it seemingly makes ...
Understanding the strength of small businesses
The number of small businesses keeps growing in the formal and informal sectors of the Nigerian economy, due to the role of small businesses as the live-wire of any economy and the backbone of major developed economies the world over. Though Nigeria rely majorly on oil and revenues derived from it, from context observation the economy is largely supported by small businesses covering almost all spheres of activities within the country, ranging from Nano, kiosk, and Micro businesses most importantly. A visible reference usually includes the vulcanizers, corner shop owners, single retail marketers, repairers, painters, business center operators, restaurants, market women, and men in the various open markets, among others. and the formal operations such as the law firms, accounting firms, con...