Family
Bandits kill PDP chieftain, kidnap three daughters in Niger
A chieftain of the Peoples Democractic Party in Kampala ward of Bosso Local Government Area of Niger state, Alhaji Ahmodu Mohammed, has been killed by bandits. Ahmodu’s three daughters were also kidnapped by the bandits. An eyewitness told newsmen that the murder of Alhaji Mohammed, a successful farmer, took place Thursday after the bandits had paid two previous visits to his community. The armed men were said to have previously attacked traders at the popular Beji market. Thursday’s raid by the bandits who numbered about 15 and carried dangerous weapons took place around 2.00am, it was learnt. A family source told newsmen that: “This is the third time that the bandits are attacking the man. They have been coming before but they couldn’t succeed because the man is very powerful”. “He was s...
Senator Kwakwaso’s father laid to rest in Kano
The remains of late Musa Saleh Kwankwaso, the Majidadin Kano, Makaman Karaye and the father of a former governor of Kano State, Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has been buried after a funeral prayer led by Shiehk Aminu Daurawa. Hundreds of sympathizers graced the funeral prayer held immediately after Jumaat prayer at the residence of the former governor along Miler road Bompai, Nasarawa Local Government Area of Kano State. Among those in attendance were a former governor of Jigwa State, Sule Lamido; Senator Rufa’i Hanga, Kawu Sumaila, Ganduje’s commissioners of Local Government, Murtala Sule Garo and that of Rural Development, Musa iliyasu Kwankwaso. Sheik Daurawa prayed for the repose of the soul of the departed and and prayed to Allah the Almighty to give the family the fortitude to bear the ...
Malian opposition leader dies of coronavirus
Malian opposition leader Soumaila Cisse has died of coronavirus aged 71, his family and party said Friday, after being held hostage for six months by jihadists earlier this year. Cisse “died in France, where he had been taken for Covid-19 care,” a member of his family told AFP. “I can confirm this terrible news. He’s dead,” a leader of Cisse’s URD party told AFP, saying the politician’s wife had let him know. Cisse was snatched by jihadists on March 25 while campaigning in the northeastern Timbuktu region ahead of legislative elections. He was freed six months later in October alongside Frenchwoman Sophie Petronin and two Italians. The hostages were exchanged for some 200 prisoners whose release was demanded by jihadist groups. “I was not subjected to any violence, either physical or verba...
Yuletide: NSCDC chief orders deployment of personnel to flash points
SIGNAL The Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu, has ordered the deployment of personnel to all nooks and crannies of the country in order to maintain peace, order and effective security of lives, property before, during and after the yuletide season. This is done against the backdrop of various reports of kidnapping, bandit attacks, assassinations and other forms of criminal activities in recent times. In a statement issued yesterday, DCC Emmanuel Okeh, CDPRO, said Gana reiterated that the determination to make the yuletide season hitch free is upper-most in the scheme of things as lots of Nigerians will be traveling to different parts of the country to celebrate with family and friends hence, the need for citizens’ safety. H...
President Buhari salutes Judith Ameachi at 50
President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the wife of the Minister of Transportation, Dame Judith Amaechi, as she turns 50 December 24th. He lauded the former First Lady of Rivers State for being a strong pillar of support for her husband, who has variously been a two-term Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, two-term Governor of same State, Chairman, Governors Forum, and now two-term Minister of Transportation. In a statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari noted that without the robust domestic support provided by her, the Amaechi persona may not have loomed as large as it does today on the nation’s political landscape. He wished the Urban and Regional Planning graduate greater successes in her endeavours as wife, mother, entr...
Bisi Fayemi urges Nigerians to stop seeking medical care abroad, come to ABUTH
The First Lady of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, has called on rich Nigerians to stop seeking medical treatments abroad, saying the multi-system nature of Afe Babalola University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) can rival any hospital in the world. Fayemi added that ABUTH is well equipped with personnel and instruments with indisputable capacity to offer quality healthcare delivery that any hospital in India, United States of America, Britain and other advanced nations could offer. The state first lady stated this at her office in Ado Ekiti yesterday, while playing host to the family of Miss Precious Sodeinde, who suffered brain tumour, and was taken to the hospital by her for treatment. The operation done on Precious, who had gone partially blind before the issue was reported to the first lady,...
Edo Head of Service regains freedom from kidnappers
Mr Anthony Okungbowa, Edo state Head of Service (HoS), who was abducted on Saturday evening along Oza Road, in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of the state, has regained his freedom. The HoS was released by his abductors on Monday night according to a family source, who pleaded anonymity. The source said that Okungbowa was set free after payment of an undisclosed amount as ransom demanded by his kidnappers and that the HoS was hale and hearty since his release. The family source disclosed that the ransom was paid through a collaboration between the family and the State government. “We just want to thank God that our brother has been set free and in good health condition,” said the source. The source, however, lamented that the Police orderly attached to the HoS, who was shot during the pr...
Governor Tambuwal’s coronavirus test returns negative
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State Monday night said he had tested negative for coronavirus. Tambuwal disclosed this on his official Twitter handle. It can be recalled that Tambuwal went into isolation due to his close physical contact with personalities who tested positive for COVID-19 during his recent official trips. According to the governor, during the isolation, he subjected himself to repeated tests by relevant agencies in order to ascertain his status, as required by the COVID-19 protocols. “It is with gratitude to Almighty Allah, that I inform the general public, particularly the good people of Sokoto State, that the outcome of the several tests I have gone through have all been negative”, he added. “I wish to express my gratitude to my Deputy, Hon Manir Muhammad Dan’i...
Governor Lalong mourns NIPSS deceased chief
Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau has described the death of Prof. Habu Galadima, the Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, near Jos, as a “great loss” to Nigeria. Lalong said this in a statement issued by his Director of Press and Public Affairs (DOPA), Dr Makut Macham, in Jos. He also said that the demise of Galadima was a huge loss to his immediate family, NIPSS, Plateau and Nasarawa states. He said that the deceased would be greatly missed by the academic community in Nigeria and the diaspora. “Prof. Galadima is an astute scholar of international repute, administrator and professional who demonstrated uncommon commitment in carrying out every responsibility he was assigned. “Since he assumed office one year ago, Galadima had injected a fr...
Former Kogi council chairman kidnapped
Gunmen have kidnapped a former Chairman of Olamaboro Local Government Area in Kogi, Mr Emmanuel Ekpa. The state police command spokesman, DSP William Aya, who confirmed this on Sunday in Lokoja said that Akpa was kidnapped along Ochadamu Road in Ofu Local Government Area. He said a police patrol team attached to Ofu discovered the abandoned car of the victim at Ochadamu area in the late hours of Friday, December 18. “On close scrutiny, they found an abandoned ID card in the vehicle bearing the name Emmanuel Isaac Ekpa, apparently indicating that he was kidnapped by gunmen,” Aya said. He said that the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Edeh Ayuba, had raised a team to track the kidnappers and ensure the safe rescue of Ekpa. Meanwhile, the abductors had made contact with the family of the vict...
California hospitals overrun even as vaccine is rolled out
Even as high profile figures like U.S. Vice President Mike Pence rolled up their sleeves for COVID-19 vaccinations, patients already ill with the disease crowded emergency rooms and overran intensive care units in California, now a worldwide epicenter. Another 41,000 people tested positive in the most populous U.S. state on Thursday, and 300 died, state public health officials said. In a state with 40 million residents, only about 1,200 intensive care beds remained available by Friday – just 2.1% of the total, the California Department of Public Health said. “We anticipated a surge, but I’m not sure if anyone imagined it would be as bad as it has been,” said Adam Blackstone, a spokesman for the Hospital Association of Southern California. Hospitals are strained under the press of patients,...
Edo APC writes off former chairman’s defection claims
Edo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday described claims by a former charman of the party, Anselm Ojezua that he was leaving the party with 150,000 members as spurious and unfounded. A statement yesterday by the State Assistant Publicity Secretary of the APC, Ofure Osehobor, said Ojezua had long left the party but that he was not popular enough to gather such a number of supporters being claimed. He said “This is deliberate falsehood because Edo people know that this man has no such followership. Moreover he left the party long before now. What is sad is that instead of staying quietly in his new party, he has chosen to embarrass himself with these claims. “Here is a man who has lost political relevance, in all its ramifications but decided to lurk around by hold...
