Sabotage
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...
Customs arrests six for smuggling adulterated diesel in polythene bags
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Friday paraded six suspects who smuggled 45,000 litres of adulterated diesel contained in 750 giant polythene bags, which were carefully concealed among sacks of sawdust to deceive security operatives. The seized product has an estimated value of N21,920 million. Also seized were 237 bags of 50kg foreign rice hidden in a petrol tanker. The Controller Enforcement at the Customs headquarters, Kayode Olusemire while parading the smugglers said that the Customs officers on patrol intercepted the smugglers in Suleja, who immediately declared that they were conveying sacks of sawdust from Port Harcourt to Kaduna State. “But the officers perceived unusual odour despite concealing it in sawdust, prompting them to dig further. “That was when they discovered dies...
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...
Nigeria, France, others condemn Mali coup
As world leaders condemn the latest coup in Mali, the military has said that both interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane have been stripped of their positions. The junta accused both of “sabotage” in the transition quest of the country. It added that it would “proceed as normally, and the scheduled elections will be held in 2022.” This came a day after the military seized both men alongside defence minister Souleymane Doucouré in an apparent coup in the unstable West African nation. This is Mali’s second coup in nine months. Ndaw and Ouane had been tasked with overseeing an 18-month transition back to civilian rule which was billed to end with an election next year March. But the leader of the latest coup, Assimi Goïta, a colonel, in a televised statement on Tuesday, ac...
Iran says 60% enrichment meant to show nuclear prowess, is reversible
Iran began enriching uranium to 60% purity in order to show its technical capacity after a sabotage attack at a nuclear plant, and the move is quickly reversible if the United States lifts sanctions, the Iranian government said on Tuesday. Talks in Vienna aimed at bringing the United States and Iran back to full compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal have been further complicated by an explosion at Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. Iran has responded by saying it is enriching uranium to 60%fissile purity, a big step towards weapons-grade from the 20% ithad previously achieved. The 2015 pact between Iran and world powers had capped the level of enrichment purity at 3.67% – suitable for generating civilian nuclear energy. Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon. “The start of 60% ...
DPR revokes Addax Petroleum oil mining licences
File Photo The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has revoked four Oil Mining Licences (OML) belonging to Addax Petroleum due to the non-development of the assets by the petroleum company. The affected assets are OML 123, 124, 126 and 137. Speaking during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, the Director/Chief Executive Officer, DPR, Mr. Sarki Auwalu, who disclosed this, said it was discovered that over 50 per cent of the assets had remained underdeveloped, which he said was resulting to loss of revenue to the federal government. According to him, “Addax refused to develop the assets and Addax were therefore not operating the assets.” The DPR boss pointed out that going by the country’s Petroleum Act, “the first reason for a revocation is when you discover that...
Activist asks court to compel Kano, others to refund VAT generated from alcohol
An Abuja-based activist, Sesugh Akume, has filed a suit before a Federal High Court in the nation’s capital, asking it to compel states that outlawed the sale of alcohol to refund the sums received through Value Added Tax imposed on alcoholic beverages. About 12 states practise Sharia law in Nigeria. They are Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Zamfara and Niger. Based on Sharia law, some of the states prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages and usually hold public events where bottles of alcoholic drinks are destroyed while gambling is also illegal. However, all the states receive VAT collected from alcoholic beverages sold in other states that permit the sale of the product. In an originating motion brought pursuant to Section 1(3), 4(5), 162(3), (4...
Nigerian telecoms’ workers issue 14-day ultimatum to Huawei
The Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PTECSSAN) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to Huawei Technologies Nigeria Limited to halt what it described as disregard and denial of workers’ fundamental rights to freedom of association as enshrined in Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution. Speaking to journalists in Lagos, yesterday, the General Secretary of PTECSSAN, Okonu Abdullahi, said all efforts in the past to address all the labour-related issues confronting the workers in the company have been rebuffed by its management. According to him, “All our efforts in the past to address all the labour-related issues confronting the workers in the company have been rebuffed by its management. Ultimate of which is gross disregard and denial of workers th...
President Buhari condemns attack on Governor Zulum’s convoy
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the ambush on entourage of Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno, which led to the death of security men and some operatives of Civilian-JTF. The President made the condemnation in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Saturday. He described the attack, on Maiduguri-Baga route, as an orchestrated sabotage against long planned return of displaced persons to their local communities. Buhari noted, with deep sympathy, the loss of lives of security men on the convoy, ahead of the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), commiserating with their families and loved ones. The president advised the government of Borno, working with security and intelligence agencies, to remain firm in their determinat...
