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Donald Trump declares state of emergency in D.C.
President Donald Trump on Monday declared a state of emergency in Washington, D.C., citing the “emergency conditions” surrounding President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had declared a state of emergency in the city on Wednesday in the aftermath of the takeover of the Capitol by rioters incited by Trump. Reports of further planned violent demonstrations have continued to circulate ahead of Inauguration Day, and Trump’s order on Monday allows the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist the city in any emergency response. Details of the violent Capitol attack have become increasingly clear in the days since a mob broke into the building, and Democrats and Republicans alike expressed concern about a similar security brea...
Lecturer found dead with bullet wounds in Ebonyi
A lecturer with the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Mr Kyrian Nwoke, has been murdered by unknown assailants. Until his death, he taught in the Department of Physiology in AE-FUNAI. His lifeless body was found along Abakaliki rice mill axis of Ogoja Road, on Monday, with bullet wounds. Newsmen gathered that the deceased was using his car for a taxi in order to fend for himself and his family following the hardship occasioned by the lingering dispute between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities which has led to the withholding of salaries of lecturers for months. Mr Nwoke was said to have gone missing on Sunday after a yet-to-be-identified person called him to come to Udemezue in Abakaliki to pick customers to a popular eatery a...
US slaps sanctions on two foundations linked to Iranian supreme leader
The United States on Wednesday blacklisted two Iranian foundations controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and their subsidiaries, saying the institutions enabled Iran’s elite to sustain a “corrupt” system of ownership over large parts of the economy. The designations announced by the US Department of the Treasury target Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO) and Astan Quds Razavi (AQR), their leaders and subsidiaries. These are the latest actions to reinforce the “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran pursued by US President Donald Trump’s administration. “These institutions enable Iran’s corrupt leaders to exploit a system of ownership over a wide range of sectors of Iran’s economy,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. US-Iranian tensions have risen since T...
Comrade Kokori accuses JNI scribe of inciting religious war
Elder statesman and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Frank Ovie Kokori, has accused Secretary of the Jama’atul Nasril Islam, JNI, Dr. Khalid Aliyu of allegedly inciting religious war in the country. Comrade Kokori made his position known on Wednesday while reacting to Dr. Aliyu’s outburst in response to the Christmas homily of the archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah. Recall that Bishop Kukah in his 2020 Christmas day message, accused President Buhari of nepotism and other misdemeanours which have attracted several reactions across the country. The elder statesman who is a former general secretary of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, also urged President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto ...
Coronavirus: Concern grows over potential superspreader event during US Capitol riot
Concerns are mounting about the health of lawmakers and other people in the Capitol last week, after the first member to test positive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) since Wednesday’s chaos, said she believed she was exposed in a crowded hiding place with hundreds of other legislators. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., tested positive on Monday while experiencing mild symptoms, and said in a statement that she believes she caught the virus from her fellow lawmakers while hunkering down as Capitol Police struggled for hours to contain a Trump-inspired mob attack on the Capitol. Lawmakers were trapped in a room near the Capitol with hundreds of others, in some cases for hours, where at least one person who later tested positive for the coronavirus was present. The Office of the Attending P...
Joe Biden receives second dose of coronavirus vaccine on camera
Joe Biden on Monday received the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on camera, as part of an effort by the President-elect’s incoming administration to reassure the country of the safety of the vaccines. Biden was administered the shot in his left arm by Ric Cuming, chief nurse executive at ChristianaCare’s Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware, according to Biden’s transition team. The President-elect said he would be announcing his plan to “get the entire Covid operation up and running,” including the necessary costs, on Thursday. Biden said he had a meeting with members of his team later Monday afternoon. Biden said he was “not afraid of taking the oath outside,” and that his team has been getting briefed, when asked if he had any fears about taking the oath of office...
PHED: Why blackout persists in Rivers communities
File Photo The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company said five power towers were damaged by suspected vandals at the Elelenwo transmission substation in Obio/Apkor Local Government Area, plunging several communities in Rivers State into darkness. Acting Head, Corporate Communications, PHED, Ngozi Koroye, who disclosed this to newsmen in Port Harcourt, said the installation belongs to the Transmission Company of Nigeria. Koroye explained that the action of the hoodlums caused extensive damage to the facility, noting that the company felt the pains of residents in the affected areas who have been in darkness for over one month. “The outage though regrettable is as a result of extensive damage caused by the activities of electricity vandals to towers 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55. Five towe...
Lagos shuts airport bridge indefinitely
The Lagos State Government on Sunday announced the closure of the Airport Bridge at Toyota on Oshodi/Isolo Expressway indefinitely. This follows the inferno that recently occurred on the Apapa Oshodi Expressway as a result of a PMS loaded tanker exploding in a fireball from collision with another truck, with the structure of the Airport Bridge at Toyota on Oshodi/Isolo Expressway has been affected. “The bridge therefore has to be temporarily closed to vehicular traffic movement to enable the State Government conduct structural engineering tests on the bridge,” said Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde. He announced alternative routes for use by motorists pending the outcome of the tests and the reopening of the bridge to traffic. “Motorists from Mile 2 to Cele on Apapa-Os...
Rivers governor threatens to shut jetty over criminal activities
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has threatened to shut down the Bonny-Bille-Nembe Jetty in Port Harcourt which conveys travelers to various riverine communities in the state if cases of criminality or physical violence in the area continued. The governor said the zeal to provide an enabling environment for sea travelers and boost the marine economy of the state spurred his administration to remodel the once dilapidated jetty first built in the 1950s. Wike stated this at the commissioning of the remodeled Bonny-Bille-Nembe Jetty by the Governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon Aminu Tambuwal on Saturday. The governor in a statement by his media aide, Kelvin Ebiri Wike, said he decided to remodel the once filthy and disused jetty because he firmly believes that the people of the state deserve t...
Ohanaeze election: Uche Okwukwu, Richard Ozobu risk contempt of court – Ikedi Ohakim
File Photo For asking the court to stop the Ohanaeze general election, former Governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, has warned that Mr. Uche Okwukwu and Prince Richard Ozobu, risk being dragged to court for alleged contempt. In a court process filed before an Umuahia High Court, on Wednesday, Okwukwu, an embattled secretary-general of Ohanaeze is seeking an order of court stopping the election committee raised by the Ime-Obi led by Ohanaeze President-General, Chief John Nnia Nwodo from conducting the election. He wants the court to allow his election committee chaired by Prince Ozobu to conduct the election. Looking at the issue, Chief Ohakim, in a press statement, hinged his warning on “an online publication made by Uche Okwukwu, the suspended Secretary General of Ohanaeze”. His word...
Mobile courts convict 76 traffic offenders in Plateau, Nasarawa
Federal Road Safety Corps Zone 4 Command, comprising Plateau, Benue and Nasarawa States has convicted 76 traffic offenders during the end of the year operations. The Zonal Commanding Officer Zone RS4, Jos, Assistant Corps Marshal Kayode Olagunju, said the Special Patrol Operation which is still ongoing till 15 January, 2021 is necessitated due to the usual increased mobility, Road Traffic Law Violations and Crashes associated with the Yuletide period. In a press statement issued by the Route Commander and Acting Zonal Public Education Officer Zone RS4, Jos, RC Olusegun Owoeye said all commanding officer in the zone have been directed to ensure prompt and prosecution of traffic offenders. He has directed all Commanding Officers in the Zone to ensure prompt arrest and prosecution of traffic ...
Ghana army steps in to quell parliament clash ahead of swearing-in
Ghanaian soldiers intervened overnight to quell a clash between opposing parties in parliament ahead of the body’s swearing-in set for Thursday. Chaotic scenes erupted after a ruling party deputy tried to seize the ballot box during the vote for parliament speaker. The ensuing clash lasted several hours until the army stepped in, with national television broadcasting the drama live. “There was total breakdown of law and order,” said MP-elect Kwame Twumasi Ampofo of the opposition National Democratic Congress. “Looking at a member of parliament and a minister of state snatching ballot papers… was so shameful.” The new parliament will be virtually split down the middle between the two main parties, posing the risk of gridlock with key issues on the agenda including how to turn around an econ...
