Monday Evening
Ekiti: Gunmen kidnap four farmers, demand N50 million ransom
Some suspected gunmen have kidnapped four farmers in a farm located in Ekiti, demanding N50 million ransom to secure their release. The Police Command in the state on Tuesday confirmed the kidnapping of the four farmers but denied knowledge of the N50 million ransom. The latest incident was coming barely a week after a traditional ruler, Oba Benjamin Osho, the Eleda of Eda Ile, in Ekiti East Local Government Area, was kidnapped, with his captors demanding N20 million ransom. Sources said the latest victims, the farmers, were kidnapped on Monday evening in Ikosu Farm Settlement in Ikosu-Ekiti, Moba Local Government area. Commenting, Mr Olawumi Ayodeji, Manager of the farm, told newsmen in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday, that the abductors had made calls, demanding N50 million ransom. When contacted, ...
Mali’s coup leader seizes power again
Mali’s president and prime minister have been ousted by the officer who led last year’s coup and became vice-president of an interim government. Col Assimi Goïta says President Bah Ndaw and PM Moctar Ouane failed in their duties and were seeking to sabotage the country’s transition. They were arrested hours after a government reshuffle which saw two senior army officers replaced. Col Goïta says elections will still go ahead next year as planned. But he ignored pleas from the UN chief, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), the EU and the US that the president and prime minister be released without any preconditions. The two men have been held at a military camp outside the capital, Bamako, since they were arrested on Monday evening. A delegation from Eco...
Forces opposed to Somali president control parts of Mogadishu
Gunmen opposed to Somalia’s Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed had control of strategic parts of the capital Mogadishu on Monday, Reuters journalists saw, after factions in the security forces clashed at the weekend over his term extension. Mohamed signed a law earlier this month extending his mandate for two years after elections were cancelled, setting off a political furore that threatens to distract Somalia’s armed forces from fighting al Qaeda-linked insurgents. The presidential term extension has also irked foreign donors, who have backed his fragile government in the hope of bringing long-needed stability to the Horn of Africa nation largely in turmoil since a 1991 civil war. After exchanges of gunfire rocked Mogadishu on Sunday and some forces came from outside the capital, anti-Mohamed fac...
Suez Canal reopens after stranded ship is freed
Traffic has resumed in Egypt’s Suez Canal after a stranded container ship blocking it for nearly a week was finally freed by salvage crews. Tug boats honked their horns in celebration as the 400m-long (1,300ft) Ever Given was dislodged on Monday with the help of dredgers. Hundreds of ships are waiting to pass through the canal which links the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. It is one of the world’s busiest trade routes. Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch salvage company Boskalis, said the Ever Given had been refloated at 15:05 (13:05 GMT) on Monday, “thereby making free passage through the Suez Canal possible again”. Egyptian officials say the backlog of ships waiting to transit through should be cleared in around three days, but experts believe the knock-on effect on global shipping could take w...
Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon questions Celtic’s Dubai trip
Agence France-Presse Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has questioned Celtic’s decision to jet off for a mid-season training camp in Dubai as the country struggles with tough coronavirus restrictions. The Premiership club insisted on Monday that they had received Scottish government approval for the trip. However, Sturgeon indicated the go-ahead was given in November, before tougher Covid-19 measures were put in place. “The rules have been — and they may need to change given the changing nature of the pandemic — that elite sports can go overseas for training camps if that’s important in the context of their training for competitions,” Sturgeon said at a media briefing on Tuesday. “I’ve seen a comment from the club that said it’s more for R (rest) and R (relaxation) than it is for tra...
Ondo tertiary institution workers suspend strike
Workers of Ondo State-owned tertiary institutions, on Monday, suspended their 14-day warning strike. The workers under the auspices of the Joint Action Committee of the Ondo State Tertiary Institutions had embarked on the strike following non-payment of their salaries and allowances by the state government. The members of the JAC include the Joint Action Committee of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, the Non-Academic Staff Union, the Nigeria Association of Academic Technologists, and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics. The workers announced their decision in a statement issued by the Chairman of JAC, ODSTI, Peter Akindehinde on Monday evening. The statement was titled ‘Suspension of 14-day warning strike’. According to the statement, the suspension of th...
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...
