June
AGF: Ohanaeze legal monitoring group on Nnamdi Kanu not necessary
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has said the legal team formed by the umbrella group for Igbo people, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to monitor proceedings of the trial of leader of the prescribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, was not necessary. He, however, welcomed the Ohanaeze team, saying it was in line with the doctrine of the right of fair hearing rooted in Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution. Recall that the separatist leader was arrested in June 2021 outside the country. Kanu is facing charges bordering on treasonable felony instituted against him at the court in response to years of campaign for the independent Republic of Biafra through IPOB. He had been granted bail in April 2017 but jumped bail. After his re-arrest in June 202...
UK police seize $249.5 million worth of cryptocurrency
The British police on Tuesday said they have seized £180 million ($249.5 million) of an undisclosed cryptocurrency, as part of a money laundering investigation launched against organised crime groups that moved into cryptocurrencies in order to clean their money. The latest seizure happened in less than three weeks after the London police made a £114 million haul on June 24 as part of its money laundering investigation. By this, a cryptocurrency payload totalling £294 million ($408 million) has been reportedly seized so far under the money laundering investigation. “While cash still remains king in the criminal world, as digital platforms develop we’re increasingly seeing organised criminals using cryptocurrency to launder their dirty money,” Reuters quoted Graham McNulty, a metropolitan P...
Anxiety in Bayelsa as four local councils cannot pay salaries
Trouble is looming in four local government areas in Bayelsa State over the inability of the council to pay the salaries of its workers. The affected local government areas – Ogbia, Nembe, Sagbama and Ekeremor – are said to be owning three months salaries. The other four local government areas namely Kolokuma/Opokuma, Yenagoa, Southern Ijaw and Brass are said to be struggling but have a financial edge due to the internally generated revenue. Bloated wage bills in the troubled local government councils and the various debts they are servicing have eaten up their finances such that they cannot meet the financial obligations to their workers. The state government had recently taken over the payment of teachers salaries in the Ogbia Local Government Area to prevent industrial action by the tea...
Court remands man for ‘abducting’, ‘defiling’ 17-year-old girl
An Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court on Monday ordered that a 26-year-old man, Sixtus Chinedu, who allegedly abducted and defiled a 17-year-old girl should be remanded in Ikoyi Custodial Centre. The police charged Chinedu, who resides at No. 6, Ijaye Road, Ogba, Lagos State, with abduction, rape and unlawful sexual intercourse. Magistrate M.O. Tanimola, gave the order, following a motion moved by the Prosecutor, ASP Victor Eruada, that the matter be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice. The magistrate, who did not take the plea of Chinedu, also directed the prosecutor to duplicate the file and send to the DPP for advice. She adjourned the case untill Aug. 12 . Earlier, Eruada said that Chinedu committed the offence on June 25, at 2.20 p.m at his residence The...
Two security guards arraigned for ‘stealing’ N5 million drugs
Two security guards, Ali Mohammed, 35 and Mohammed Abdullahi, 25, were on Monday arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, for allegedly stealing drugs valued at N5 million. The defendants, who reside in Oshodi, Lagos State, are being tried on a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing. The Prosecution Counsel, Sgt. Olasunkanmi Adejumola, told the court that the defendants committed the offences on June 28, at Adewale Crescent, Oshodi, Lagos state. Adejumola alleged that the defendants carted away cartons of various drugs belonging to Geneith Pharmaceutical Ltd. “After discovery that some goods were missing in the store, the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) was played. “The defendants were seen carrying some of the drugs through the back gate into a waiting vehicle which th...
South Africa extends tight coronavirus restrictions for another 14 days
South Africa extended tight COVID-19 rules on Sunday for another 14 days, maintaining restrictions that include a ban on gatherings, a curfew from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. and a prohibition on the sale of alcohol. The country, the worst-hit on the African continent in terms of recorded cases and deaths, is in the grip of a third wave of infections driven by the more infectious Delta coronavirus variant. “Our health system countrywide remains under pressure,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address to the nation. Early this month South Africa recorded a new record of over 26,000 daily cases, stretching hospitals to breaking point. Ramaphosa moved the country to the fourth level of a five-tier restriction scale in late June as infections climbed, promising to review the restrictions af...
Lagos assembly begins audit of 57 councils
The Lagos House of Assembly has commenced an audit exercise for all the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and the 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state. The Chairman, House Committee on Public Account (Local), Mojeed Fatai, made this known in a statement issued in Lagos on Saturday. Fatai said that the committee was expected to submit its report to the House after the weeklong exercise. The lawmaker explained that the exercise was aimed at checking probity and accountability in the local government administration as provided in the 1999 (Amended) Constitution. He said: “The essence of the exercise is to allow the committee go through the 2019 report of the Auditor General without fear or favour to any local council indicted by the officials of the Auditor General. “Also, t...
Majority of Brazilians support impeaching President Bolsonaro, poll shows
For the first time, a majority of Brazilians support impeaching President Jair Bolsonaro, according to a poll released on Saturday, as serious graft allegations related to vaccine procurement hit the right-wing leader’s already battered image. According to the survey by Datafolha, 54% of Brazilians support a proposed move by the country’s lower house to open impeachment proceedings against Bolsonaro, while 42% oppose it. In the last Datafolha survey on the issue, released in May, supporters and opponents of impeachment were essentially tied. In a separate Datafolha poll, released on Thursday, 51% of Brazilians said they disapproved of Bolsonaro, the highest figure since he took office in January 2019. In recent weeks, Brasilia has been rocked by allegations that federal officials solicited...
Nigerian asks resident doctors, health workers to withdraw strike notices
The Federal Government has directed the National Association of Resident Doctors and the Joint Health Sector Unions to withdraw their strike notices immediately. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said this at a news conference in Abuja on Friday. Ngige was addressing newsmen at the end of a meeting with the Presidential Committee on Salaries, relevant Federal Government stakeholders and health sector professional associations and trade unions. He said that the Federal Government was recently issued notice of trade disputes by NARD and JOHESU. “I told them to withdraw because it is arm-twisting. It is not allowed in International Labour Organisation Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiation. So, we expect them to withdraw those notices they gave. “JOHESU gave 15-day ulti...
Dutch FA opens talks with Louis van Gaal over return to national team
Louis van Gaal has moved a step closer to returning as Netherlands coach for a third time after meeting with Dutch football association officials to discuss the job, local media reported on Friday. The reports said the 69-year-old held talks at his home in Portugal on Thursday with KNVB directors Nico-Jan Hoogma and Eric Gudde, who are responsible for the choice of a new coach after Frank de Boer’s resignation. De Boer resigned after their Euro 2020 last-16 defeat to Czech Republic on June 27 and the KNVB said it would move swiftly to find a replacement, with the team set to resume their World Cup qualification campaign in September. Van Gaal, who officially retired in 2019 but stepped away from the game two years earlier after leaving Manchester United, had two previous spells at the helm...
Anambra election: We’ve no hand in APGA triple candidates woes – APC
Anambra State All Progressive Congress (APC) has denied any hand in the triple candidates scenario in All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state as alleged by Governor Willie Obiano of the state. The party said that was rather too busy with the self-purification and organizational process to bother about parties that were hijacked from their original goals. The State APC Publicity Secretary Okelo Madukaife in a statement said that Governor Obiano had alleged that APC and PDP were responsible for the crisis in APGA and in fact tried to stop one of the three factional candidates from emerging. “APC has nothing do with such infradig affair. PDP will speak for itself. One thing is however clear. Every leader in the place of Governor Obiano today would be ashamed of what has become of ...
UNICEF to supply AU states 220 million coronavirus vaccines
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has signed an agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV to supply up to 220 million doses of the J&J single-dose vaccine to all 55 member-states of the African Union (AU) by the end of 2022. Some 35 million doses are to be delivered by the end of this year, UNICEF stated in a statement issued on Thursday in New York. The agreement, between UNICEF and Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, will help implement the Advance Purchase Commitment (APC) signed between the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) and Janssen last March. That agreement secured an option to order another 180 million doses, bringing the maximum access up to a total of 400 million doses by the end of 2022. The AU established AVAT in November 2020 to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to the African continen...
