The Bayelsa State Police Command has arrested two students of the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU) for unlawful possession of a revolver pistol and cultism. A statement on Wednesday by the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Asinim Butswat, identified the two NDU undergraduates as Joshua Daniel and Kevin Are. While Daniel is a 300-level student of the Department of Economics, Are is a 200-level student of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Butswat said the suspects were picked up with their gun on Tuesday at the jetty in the university town of Amassoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state. According to him, the two of them confessed to be members of the Vikings Confraternity, a secret cult. He said they would be arraigned in court when investigation was concluded. ...
South Africa’s economy could contract 8.2% this year, and grow just 0.6% in 2021, if a second wave of COVID-19 cases hits the country and its main trading partners, the OECD said on Friday. If a second wave of infections is avoided, the economy will contract 7.5% in 2020 before rebounding 2.5% next year, the OECD said in a report on Africa’s most industrialised economy. South Africa was in recession before the pandemic struck, with recurring power cuts by struggling state utility Eskom and weak business confidence dampening economic activity. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has promised to fast-track reforms to raise economic growth potential, but some investors are becoming restless about the pace of change. “South Africa cannot afford to delay reforms. It is essential to undertake...