Names
NSF: Edo government pledges better welfare to volunteers
The Edo Government has pledged to do its best to take care of the volunteers who will help in the hosting of the 20th National Sports Festival (NSF) in Benin. The State Deputy Governor, Mr Philips Shaibu, made the pledge on Friday while addressing the volunteers at the Games village, located in the University of Benin. Shaibu, who also is the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the festival, assured the volunteers that the state would welcome collaboration and cooperation of the team to ensure the success of the sporting fiesta. “This address is to assure you that we will collaborate and cooperate with you to ensure that the game is successful. “Your role as volunteers to help us guide and control our athletes as they come is paramount to the success of the games. “From th...
Japan releases softball squad for Tokyo Olympic Games
Japanese softball team head coach Reika Utsugi has urged her players to capture Olympic gold on home soil after naming a 15-strong squad for Tokyo 2020. The team features Yukiko Ueno, captain Yamada Eri and Yukiyo Mine who helped Japan clinch softball gold at Beijing 2008 – the last time the sport featured at the Games. Pitchers Yamato Fujita and Miu Goto, who was named Most Valuable Player in last season’s Japan Women’s Softball League, as well as star outfielder Saki Yamazaki are other notable names. Haruka Agatsuma, Nayu Kiyohara, Mana Atsumi, Yuka Ichiguchi, Hitomi Kawabata, Minori Naito, Yu Yamamoto, Nodoka Harada and Sayaka Mori have also been chosen. “Of course, skills and physical competence are the necessary elements,” said Utsugi. “But in selecting the 15 members, we also took th...
10 including police officer killed in Colorado mass shooting
Ten people including a police officer were killed on Monday in a mass shooting at a grocery store in Boulder, near the Rocky Mountains in northern Colorado. Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said that the 51-year-old officer, Eric Talley, was one of the first responders at the scene. She called his actions heroic. Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said that the alleged shooter was injured and in custody. Herold said that police began receiving calls about shots fired and a call about a person with a “patrol rifle’’ at 2:30 p.m. Talley was one of the first officers at the scene and was fatally shot. “This is a very complex investigation that will take no less than five days to complete,’’ Herold said at a news conference. CNN cited an unnamed senior law enforcement source a...
Five more suspects arrested over murder of Afenifere leader’s daughter
Five more suspected killers of Mrs Funke Olakunri, 58-year-old daughter of the national leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, have been arrested by the police. Recall that the deceased was gruesomely murdered in July, 12, 2019 by suspected kidnappers along the Ore-Lagos highway. The suspects include Lawal Mazaje, 40, from Felele, Kogi State; Adamu Adamu, 50, from Jada in Adamawa State; Mohammed Usman, 26, from Illela, Sokoto State and Auwal Abubakar, 25, from Shinkafi, Zamfara State. Four suspects had earlier been arrested by the police, in connection with the murder case and had been arraigned before the court . They include Muhammed Shehu, 26, Mazaje Lawal, 40, Adamu Adamu, 60 and Awalu Abubakar, 25. They were arraigned on three count charge of conspiracy to kill, murder and kidnappi...
Imo Assembly receives list of commissioner nominees
The Imo House of Assembly on Tuesday received a list of four nominees for ratification of their appointment as commissioners in the state Executive Council. The nomimees are Doris Uzoka, Bartholomew Okorochukwu, Boniface Nwogu and Uche Ohia. The Speaker, Paul Emeziem (APC-Onuimo), during plenary, read the names from a letter sent to the House by Governor Hope Uzodimma. The speaker referred the list of the nominees to a five-man ad-hoc committee, chaired by Obinna Okwara (APC-Nkwerre), for screening. He charged the committee to conclude the screening by Wednesday and report to the House. The House resolved to pass a vote of confidence on the governor for his “monumental achievements” in his one year in office. The motion was moved by Eddy Obinna (APC-Aboh Mbaise) who said the governor has p...
Minister: Asari Dokubo’s Biafra declaration is a joke by an attention-seeker
The Federal Government has dismissed the reported formation of a Biafra Customary Government by an ex-Niger Delta militant, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, as a “theatre of the absurd by a joker seeking attention’’. Speaking with newsmen on the development in Lagos on Monday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime would allow itself to be distracted by the absurdity. The Minister said: “I am sure you have heard of the theatre of the absurd, that is the best way I can describe it. “If Asari Dokubo wants to form and run a phantom government, I think he is free to do so. This administration will not be distracted because we still have a lot to do. “We are not ready to give any attention or time to a joker like Dokubo who is just looking f...
OAU assures students will be mobilised for NYSC 2021 Batch A
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has assured its students that they will be mobilised for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) 2021 Batch A. Mr Abiodun Olarewaju, the Public Relations Officer, gave the assurance in an interview with the newsmen on Thursday in Ile-Ife. He debunked rumours that only OAU had not submitted the names of its students for Batch A Corps members. According to him, no Federal University has submitted the names of their prospective students for NYSC scheme till date. “What we did was to travel to Abuja to effect some corrections and to bring back the corrected document for possible uploading for today or latest tomorrow. “Actually, there’s tendency that as I am speaking with you that their names must have been uploaded to NYSC portal today. “I am assurin...
AFCON: NFF confirms date of final qualifying matches for Super Eagles
On Wednesday, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) took to the official Twitter account of the Super Eagles to officially confirm the dates and kickoff times for the final stage of the senior men’s national football team’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers. For Matchday five, the Super Eagles will meet the Squirrels of Benin Republic on Saturday, March 27, in Porto-Novo, the capital of Republic of Benin, for a 1600 hours (GMT) kickoff. The next fixture against the Crocodiles of Lesotho, which will be the last of the series, will take place on Tuesday, March 30, in Lagos at 1600 hours (GMT) as well. At this point of the qualifiers, Nigeria has eight points from their first four Group L games and a draw from either of these matches will earn the Super Eagles the point they need ...
INEC to hold Aba Reps by-election on March 27
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed March 27, for the Aba North/South Federal Constituency by-election in Abia. Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja. Okoye said that the commission met on Thursday and deliberated on a number of issues including the federal constituency by-election. He said the official notification for the election would be published on March 1. “Political Parties shall conduct their primaries between March 4 and Match 10 while the last day for submission of list of nominated candidates is at 6p.m. on March 16. “Political Parties shall submit the names of their Polling Agents for the election to the Electoral Officers in the respective L...
Security forces burst arms stockpile in Ebonyi
Nigerian security forces have burst arms stockpiles at Effium in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State after a joint security operation. An intelligence source told PRNigeria that a combined team of security forces recorded the huge success in a major sting operation carried out by the Department of State Services (DSS) in collaboration with the Nigerian Army in the early hours of 12th February, 2021 at Effium. Items recovered during the operation included: an AK-47 rifle; One (1) G3 rifle; a pump action rifle; double barreled Dane gun; five single barreled Dane guns; two locally made pistols; locally made revolver pistol and 592 different calibers of ammunition including those for General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) and AK-47 rifles. Though the DSS Spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, whe...
Ondo Amotekun arrests illegal gold miners
The Ondo State Security Network also known as Operation Amotekun has announced the arrest of persons involved in illegal gold mining activities in the state. The suspects, according to the commander of Amotekun, Adetunji Adeleye, were arrested at different locations in Owo forest reserves on Sunday. He gave the names of those arrested as Shuaibu Yahaya, Habbi Usman, Kabiru Waheed, Mohammed Nurudeen, Mohammed Sulaman, Ali Mustapha, Ismaila Wahab, Musa Zeehed, Gabbar Musa, Sule Adamu, Abba Suleman, Usman Kabiru, Yahaya Danladi and Usman Ali Zekeri. The Amotekun official told journalists in Akure, Ondo State, on Monday that the suspects were arrested while operatives were enforcing the order given by Governor Rotimi Makinde that all illegal occupiers of forests reserved should vacate. “The ar...
China joins calls for IWF to publish list of election candidates
Nations from around the world have written to the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to express their dismay at the governing body’s failure to publish the list of candidates for forthcoming elections. There have been complaints of poor governance, a lack of transparency, and giving an unfair advantage to certain candidates on the current IWF Executive Board who have the information that is denied to others. For the last elections in 2017 the list was published five days after the nominations deadline. This year, eight days have passed already and there is no sign of the IWF naming the candidates for President, first vice-president, vice-president, and a place on the Executive Board. The IWF is entitled, under current regulations, to wait until 30 days before the elections – Febr...
