The Benue State Government has described as shocking claims by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed that Governor Samuel Ortom was responsible for the negative perception of Fulani by other Nigerians. The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Samuel Ortom on Animal Husbandry, Alhaji Shehu Tambaya, stated this in a chat with newsmen on Sunday. Tambaya, who described as unfortunate, Governor Mohammed’s statement about Governor Ortom, insisting that people from all works of life live do business in all parts of Benue without any problem. He maintained that although he would not want to join issues with Governor Mohammed, Governor Ortom has proven to be a lover of all Nigerians irrespective of political, ethnic or religious inclination. ‘Governor Mohammed is only trying to defend what is undefen...
The United States will next week begin reopening the southern border to asylum-seekers who the Trump administration forced to remain in Mexico while awaiting immigration court hearings. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said this in a statement on Friday. “Beginning on Feb. 19, the Department of Homeland Security will begin phase one of a programme to restore safe and orderly processing at the southwest border. “DHS will begin processing people who had been forced to ‘remain in Mexico’ under the Migrant Protection Protocols,” the statement said. The move marks a first step toward overturning the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the ‘remain in Mexico’ policy, which since being implemented in January 2019 has forced migrants to wait in Mexico while t...
An Ilorin Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday ordered that Usman Abdulkareem, who allegedly conspired with a herbalist, friend to abduct his wife, be remanded in a correctional centre. The police charged Abdulkareem, a herbalist, Babatunde Mohammed and a friend, Fatai Adisa with two counts of criminal conspiracy and abduction, to commit culpable homicide, contrary to Section 97 and 274 of Penal Code Law. Magistrate Afusat Alege ordered that the defendants be remanded in Oke-Kura Correctional Centre, Ilorin. Alege adjourned the case until Feb.24, for further mention. The Prosecution Counsel, Sgt. Abubakar Issa, told the court that investigation conducted revealed that Abdulkareem was the one who called Mumeenat, his wife, on mobile phone and asked her to to meet him in the second defendant’ hou...
The Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, on Tuesday said the National Assembly is the poorest parliament in the world. Kalu stated this while responding to a question on the status of investigative reports and alleged compromise of the lawmakers on some of the reports. He refuted the claims of compromise and blamed COVID-19 for the delays on consideration of the reports. Kalu added that the lawmakers are falling sick due to pressure from constituents making financial demands. “As per being compromised, you would have seen it on the lawmakers. This is the poorest parliament. You don’t see the lawmakers living in luxury. Compromised with what? With position or money? These guys are suffering,” Kalu said. “That is why most of the sickness they are passing through are h...
The Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by the Lagos State government to investigate the October 2020 Lekki shooting incident has approved the reopening of the Lekki Tollgate. The nine-man panel returned the control of the tollgate to the Lekki Concession Company, the operators, on Saturday. The company, through its counsel, had been praying the panel to allow it to take over the plaza for repair and insurance claims since December 2020. But the panel said the toll plaza could not be handed over as a forensic expert has been paid by the Lagos state government to examine the toll gate with respect of the October 20 shooting incident. The prayer of the LCC was answered on Thursday when the panel gave the company access to reopen the toll gate. The report of the forensic examination, which was m...
The police in Zamfara have arrested four suspects over alleged killing of a Fulani herdsman. At a press conference in Gusau on Sunday, the Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro, said the police command also recovered 200 rustled cows following its steadfastness in crime fighting. He said some weapons were recovered and the command secured the release of no fewer than eight persons abducted three weeks ago. “We recovered no fewer than 200 stolen cows, five AK 47 rifles, three vehicles and a large number of ammunitions,” he said. According to the commissioner, the peace process being led by the state government has yielded huge results, including the unconditional surrendering of three 3 AK-47 rifles and 47 rounds of live ammunitions. “As a result of the ongoing peace engagement in Shinkafi Loc...
Anti-coup protests ring out in Myanmar’s main city
The din of banging pots and honking car horns reverberated through Myanmar’s biggest city of Yangon late on Tuesday in the first widespread protest against the military coup that overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The party of the detained Nobel Peace laureate called for her release by the junta that seized power on Monday and is keeping her at an undisclosed location. It also demanded recognition of her victory in a November election. A senior official from her National League for Democracy (NLD) said he had learned she was in good health a day after her arrest in a military takeover that derailed Myanmar’s tentative progress towards full democracy. The U.N. Security Council was due to meet later on Tuesday amid calls for a strong global response to the military’s latest seizure o...