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Somali execute 18 al-Shabab militants
Hamza Mohamed/Al Jazeera Eighteen al-Shabab militants were executed on Sunday in Galkayo town of Mudug, the Puntland State of Somalia, after being sentenced to death earlier by the court. The Chairperson of Puntland state court, Mohamud Abdi Mohamed, said that the court proceedings followed through different stages before the execution. “Puntland State Court of Armed Forces executed 18 al-Shabab militants this morning. “The convicts were all behind the killings of many of our important people here. “The court took the right action against them,’’ Mohamed said. Al-Shabab militants termed the execution as a massacre of innocent civilians by the Puntland state. The militant group has carried out a series of assassinations and bombings in Galkayo and other parts of the Mudug region. Puntland o...
Presidency: Niger Delta Avengers’ threat unnecessary
File Photo The Presidency on Sunday reacted to the threat by the Niger Delta Avengers to bomb oil installations if some demands were not met by federal government, saying the recent threat of force by the Avengers is unnecessary. It, however, said it was curious that the threat was coming barely 48 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari met with the leadership of the Niger Delta and Ijaw National Congress (INC), at the State House, Abuja and the germane issues, especially call for restructuring of the federation, and the inauguration of a Board for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), had been thrashed out. A release on Sunday by the Media Adviser to the President, Femi Adesina, stressed that the media was Sunday awash with threats and demands by a group, Niger Delta Avengers, to...
CMD: Lafia specialist hospital meets requirements for teaching hospital
The Chief Medical Director of the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Dr Ikrama Hassan, has said that ‘DASH has fulfilled all requirements for a Teaching Hospital take off in Lafia.’ Hassan said this at the National Assembly during the public hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Health, as part of the procedures for the passage of the bill, seeking the establishment of a teaching hospital for the medical college of the federal university; a bill sponsored by the former governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura. Dr Hassan explained the situation on the ground saying that it is a ‘win-win situation’, adding that the federal government does not need to put in so much as adequate infrastructure, equipment and manpower are already on the ground. ‘If the federal government gives the additional neede...
Petrol smuggling: Nigerian government using device to track trucks, smugglers
The Federal Government says it has facilitated the use of a tracking device to track every truck loading petroleum product from any of its depots as part of efforts to nip smuggling in the bud and arrest culprits. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said this at a forum organised by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to gauge the achievements recorded in the oil and gas sector in the last two years. Sylva noted that a lot had been achieved in the industry but that the activities of smugglers had continued to overshadow the successes especially as it concerned fuel subsidy and the quantity of petroleum products consumed in the country. “This is one big question that we try to answer ourselves because when we look at the number of load-outs from our depots every day...
Nigerian government says no immediate plan to ban cylinder imports
The Federal Government says it had no immediate plan to ban the importation of gas cylinders as part of its LPG expansion and implementation plan. Mr Dayo Adesina, Senior Special Assistant on Domestic Gas in the office of the Vice-President, made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Abuja. He said that the government was working on first building local capacities before contemplating a ban. According to Adesina, who is also the Programme Manager of the National LPG Expansion and Implementation, Nigeria still has a lot of cylinder deficits to fill in meeting the LPG expansion plan. He explained that the plan was to get LPG to the remotest of villages and discourage use of firewood and other fuels that are inimical to the environment. Adesina said that of the nation’s ove...
Two injured in church bomb blast in eastern DR Congo
A makeshift bomb exploded inside a Catholic church in the city of Beni in the DR Congo’s conflict-plagued east on Sunday, injuring two just an hour before a children’s Confirmation ceremony was due to be held. The head of police in Beni’s town hall Narcisse Muteba Kashale told AFP that the explosion occurred at 06:00 and that experts from the UN’s mission to DR Congo had told “us it is a home-made bomb, a bomb that was set up for an ambush”. Beni’s vicar general Laurent Sondirya said two people were injured in the blast, which went off before crowds would have gathered to attend the Confirmation ceremony. “They were targeting a large crowd because the ceremony would bring together children, their parents and the faithful,” he told AFP, adding that “mass would not be postponed”. Traces of b...
Anambra election: I’ve not highjacked APC primary – Senator Uba
File Photo A leading contender for the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket, Andy Uba, has distanced himself from alleged attempts to hijack the party’s ongoing primary election. A statement in Awka, Saturday afternoon by Uba’s campaign organisation said the allegation was the last resort of people it called paper tigers. The statement read: ‘We are presently in touch with a number of false allegations where it has been stated that our principal, Senator Andy Uba has highjacked the process meant to democratically select a candidate for the forthcoming polls in November. ‘We wish to state categorically that nothing can be further from the truth as our principal, Senator Andy Uba, remains committed to the tenets of democracy and fairness and will thus not indulge in anything t...
Rivers governor calls for workable life insurance scheme for police
Concerned about the recent spate of dastardly attacks on police officers, the Governor of Rivers State, Nyeson Ezenwo Wike, has urged the Federal government to put in place a workable life insurance scheme for all police personnel. The governor said the life insurance scheme should be considered a necessity so that when a police officer dies on duty protecting the public, his loved ones will not be financially divested afterwards. He made the suggestion when the President, Police Officers Wives Association (POWA), Hajia Hajara Alkali Baba, paid him a courtesy call at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Friday. Governor Wike observed that policing has become a risky occupation, and concerted effort must be made by the Federal government to ensure those police officers who risk their live...
Chelsea legend Michael Essien extends role with FC Nordsjaelland
Former Ghana and Chelsea star Michael Essien has extended his coaching contract with Danish Superligaen side FC Nordsjaelland until 2023. According to FC Nordsjaelland manager Flemming Pedersen the former Real Madrid enforcer has lived up to expectations on the touchline much to the delight of the technical handlers and he is now certain of continuing his cherished coaching role at the Right to Dream Park. “Michael Essien has chosen to extend with us until the summer of 2023. We have just looked at each other in the first year, but it has been a no-brainer for him, and he told me that he likes to be here,” Pedersen confirmed Essien’s new deal to Sn.dk as quoted by kickgh.com. “We need Michael, and he gets even more focus on the individual focus. Both on the field, but also off. He can give...
Jeta Amata again bemoans ex-wife’s disappearance
Nollywood filmmaker, Jeta Amata, has continued to express concern concerning the whereabouts of his ex-wife, Mbong. The filmmaker took to his Instagram page on Thursday to express some worry at Mbong’s disappearance. He also uploaded screenshots of the last chat conversation he had with the actress before her “disappearance.” He wrote: “I wonder when you all would realize how serious this is. See my last conversation with Mbong. She has not been seen. I suspected late last year and insisted on hearing her voice. That’s when she went dark. We weren’t quarrelling before. “I invited her mother to Abuja to see Veno and she lied and came with policemen. Veno opened the door. She’s been trying to kidnap her since. When her other daughter was pregnant as a teenager, her husband drove them out. Th...
Canada, Germany, EU, others funding farming in northeast Nigeria
The People and Government of Canada, the European Union Trust Fund for Africa, the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Norway and the Kingdom of Sweden are funding the 2021 rainy season farming in troubled North-east of Nigeria. The funding, which is implemented through the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), is providing farming inputs to 65,800 farmers in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States adversely affected by over a decade Boko Haram insurgency. A statement on Friday by FAO recognized that the rainy season farm cultivation is critical to food production in Nigeria, as it ensures food availability and income generation, especially for smallholder and low-income households. The statement read: “...
Chris Alao-Akala, Sunday Dare applaud Senator Ajimobi’s legacies
Former Gov. Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State and Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Akin Dare, have applauded the late former Governor of the state, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi’s legacies. The duo, in their separate statements made available to newsmen on Friday, described the late former governor as a focused and committed statesman. Newsmen report that Ajimobi died on June 25, 2020, following reported complications arising from COVID-19 infection. Ajimobi, who died at the age of 70, was the first civilian governor to rule the state for two consecutive terms. NAN also reports that the late Ajimobi was, until his death, the Aare of Ibadanland and Deputy National Chairman (South) of APC. Alao-Akala, in a statement signed by his Media Aide, Tolu Mustapha, said that he now...
