Families
Pope says Canada school discovery painful, but stops short of apology
Pope Francis said on Sunday that he was pained by the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former Catholic school for indigenous students in Canada and called for respect for the rights and cultures of native peoples. However, Francis stopped short of the direct apology some Canadians had demanded. Two days ago, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Catholic Church must take responsibility for its role in running many of the schools. Indigenous leaders and school survivors said the Church needed to do much more. “We’re all pained and saddened. Who isn’t?” said Bobby Cameron, chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan. Speaking to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly blessing, Francis urged Canadian political and Catholic...
Bandits murder police inspector, seven others in Katsina, Kaduna
The Katsina State police command has confirmed the killing of an Inspector of Police and three residents of Zandam village, in Jibia Local Government Area, by suspected bandits. The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, said the incident happened on Monday evening, during which five other villagers sustained injuries. Isah, in a press statement, yesterday, said, “bandits in large numbers, armed with sophisticated weapons and riding on motorcycles, invaded Zandam village. “The Bandits had a fierce gun battle with the mobile policemen deployed to the village. “At the scene, it was discovered that three male residents were shot and killed by the hoodlums while five others sustained injuries. “The team succeeded and gunned down three of the bandits, but an Inspector of Police g...
Katsina governor: Kebbi boat mishap a major national tragedy
Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State, has said that the recent boat mishap in Warrah, in Ngaski Local Government of Kebbi State was a major national tragedy . Masari stated this on Sunday, in Birnin Kebbi, when he led a high powered delegation, for the condolence and commiseration visit to Kebbi state Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu. ”The tragic incident had consumed the lives of over 100 persons and in Nigeria, just like in other climes, tragedies of such disturbing magnitude call for national mourning and concerns. ”That is why we are here ,on behalf of government and people of Katsina State, to express our deepest condolences and commiseration to the families of the victims, people and Government of Kebbi State,” he said. Masari also expressed hope that,the deceased have...
INEC to create 2,673 centres as continuous voter registration resumes
The Independent National Electoral Commission said it plans to create 2,673 registration centres and deploy 5,346 officials for the Continuous Voter Registration scheduled to resume June 28. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at the commission’s emergency meeting with security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security. Yakubu said that INEC was preparing for the resumption of the nationwide CVR to enable Nigerians who have attained the age 18 years and those who did not register previously to do so. He said: “Similarly, registered voters who wish to change their voting locations and those who wish to correct their names and other details on their Permanent Voters Cards can do so. “We plan to create 2,673 registration centre...
Gunman kills at least 8 in mass shooting at California rail yard
At least eight people were killed when a transit employee opened fire at his co-workers at a light rail yard in San Jose, California, on Wednesday morning, the county sheriff’s office said, in the latest in a string of mass shootings this spring. The gunman, who like the victims was an employee of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), was also dead, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Deputy Russell Davis said at a news conference. He did not say how the gunman died or whether police officers fired their weapons at the scene. The name and age of the suspect were also not disclosed. The first emergency calls reporting the shooting at the VTA light rail yard near the city’s main airport came through shortly after 6:30 a.m. Pacific Time (1330 GMT). A bomb squad was searching the yar...
JNI urges Nigerian government to investigate repeated air crashes
YouTube The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) has called on the Federal Government to investigate repeated air crashes to prevent further loss of lives in the country. It urged the government to constitute a formidable investigative panel of experts to unearth the recurring mystery. The Secretary General of JNI, Dr Khalid Aliyu, made the appeal in a statement issued on Tuesday in Kaduna. Aliyu said constituting the panel to unearth the air mishaps involving senior servicemen “is so averred because the nation is seriously losing human capital. “This human capital isn’t just easy to come by, as it is consciously and determinedly acquired”. According to him, for posterity we implore the government to release other reports of happenings in which innocent lives were lost and implement same so as to s...
Ondo governor: No land in southern Nigeria will be ceded to invaders masquerading as herdsmen
The Ondo State Governor and Chairman of the Southern Governors Forum, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has declared that “no inch of the space delineated and known, currently, as South West, and indeed the whole South, will be ceded to a band of invaders masquerading as herdsmen under any guise.” Akeredolu made the declaration in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant Special Duties and Strategies, Dr Doyin Odebowale. The declaration was sequel to a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, on the position of President Muhammadu Buhari, on the farmer-herder clashes and what was termed as “Deep Rooted Solutions to the herdsmen attacks”. Shehu had in the statement revealed the presidency’s position that ranching and revival...
21 runners dead as extreme weather hits China ultramarathon
Twenty-one people were killed after hail, freezing rain and high winds hit runners taking part in a 100-kilometre (62-mile) cross-country mountain race in China, state media said Sunday. The extreme weather struck a high-altitude section of the race held in the scenic Yellow River Stone Forest near Baiyin city in northwestern Gansu province Saturday afternoon. Among the dead were elite Chinese long-distance runners, local media reported. Official news agency Xinhua confirmed the death toll had risen to 21, citing the local rescue command headquarters. State broadcaster CCTV also reported the final missing competitor had been found dead. Baiyin city mayor Zhang Xuchen said that at around midday Saturday a section of the rugged ultramarathon course — between kilometres 20 and 31 — was “sudde...
VP Osinbajo: General Attahiru, others’ death shows depth of military sacrifice
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has noted that the death of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and others in Friday’s air crash shows the depth of sacrifice of the military. Expressing shock and sadness at the occurrence, Osinbajo said in a statement issued by his spokesman, Laolu Akande, on Saturday that “their death while in active service in the defense of our country reflects the depth of sacrifice our military officers, men and women of the other ranks are often prepared to make.” The statement quoted the Vice President as saying: “I received with great sadness the news of an air crash involving the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru, and other officers of the Nigerian military yesterday. “Their death while in active service in the defense of our country re...
House mourns army chief, others
Members of the House of Representatives have expressed sadness over the death of Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and his entourage in an air crash in Kaduna. Attahiru, along with six senior officers and four crew members were onboard Nigerian Air Force Kingair 350 from Abuja to Kaduna, ahead of today’s passing out parade of soldiers from the Nigerian Army Depot in Zaria, when the crash happened amid torrential rainfall, on Friday evening. The Speaker of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, in a statement issued on Saturday described as shocking and sad the death Attahiru and others involved in the plane crash. Gbajabiamila said the death of the Army Chief was unfortunate coming at a time that the Nigerian military was finding solutions to the security challenges in the country...
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...
