Saturday
Nigerian government distributes relief materials to IDPs in Bauchi
The Federal Government has distributed relief materials to 578 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi. Alhaji Basheer Mohammed, the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), made this known at the presentation of the materials to the IDPs on Saturday in Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi State. Represented by the North-East Zonal Coordinator, Mr Abdullahi Kaoje, he said the donation was part of the federal government’s commitment to bring succour to those affected by the activities of armed bandits and cattle rustlers in the state. Mohammed explained that the donated items were meant to serve as palliative measures to cushion the bad effects as a result of the loss of their loved ones...
Rivers United defeat Bloemfontein Celtics in CAF Confederation qualifier
Rivers United are through to the final playoff round of the CAF Confederation Cup after they again defeated South Africa’s Bloemfontein Celtics on Saturday. Despite playing at a neutral ground, at the Charles De Gaulles Stadium in Port Novo, Benin Republic, Rivers United posted a 3-0 win over Celtics to progress on 5-0 aggregate scoreline. The Pride of Rivers had registered a 2-0 win when they played the first leg in South Africa in December and despite the uncertainties that postponed and rescheduled the second leg, Stanley Eguma’s men delivered yet another flawless performance. Just as it was in the first leg, the duo of Fortune Omoniwari and Godwin Aguda were again the goal scorers for Rivers United on Saturday with the latter scoring twice this time. Rivers United now have their work w...
HURIWA accuses IGP Adamu of bias over Sunday Igboho’s arrest order
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) on Saturday accused the Inspector General of Police, (IGP) Mohammed Adamu of partiality and double standards by ordering the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Ngozi Onadeko to arrest the Yoruba Ethnic Rights Activist, Mr. Sunday Ighoho. But, HURIWA said IGP has refused to order the immediate arrest of the leader of a faction of Miyetti Allah Association, Bello Badejo who has threatened to take over lands of communities across the country unlawfully. HURIWA in a statement issued by the National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said: “May be the IGP is lobbying for extension of tenure and can do everything to please the powers that be that have unambiguously made it known that the Fulani Ethnicity and Fulani herdsmen are sacred cows wh...
ACF: Attack on Fulani a social upheaval that may destabilise Nigeria
The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has condemned the attack on a Fulani community in the southwest, insisting that such an act was a social upheaval that may destabilize the country. ACF also alleged that security agents did nothing when the attack was carried out. Emmanuel Yawe, National Publicity Secretary, Arewa Consultative Forum, in a statement on Saturday entitled “STOP THE DRIFT IN THE SOUTHWEST”, recalled that the civil war in the 1960’s started with attacks and counter-attacks like the Oyo attack on Fulani. He stated that “this morning, we received reports of an attack by Yoruba Youths on Alhaji Saliu Abdulkadir, the Serki Fulani in Oyo State. In the reports, he was attacked and driven out of his house, eleven cars and his house burnt with his family members now living in the bush...
Zimbabwe loses two more ministers to coronavirus
Two ministers serving in the Zimbabwean government died of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) within a matter of days, prompting the country to announce on Saturday plans to further tighten lockdown measures. Late on Friday, the government announced that Transport Minister Joel Matiza had died after falling ill with COVID-19, less than two days after the country lost Foreign minister Sibusiso Moyo to the same disease. Four government ministers have succumbed to the coronavirus in Zimbabwe so far. According to unconfirmed media reports, several other cabinet ministers are fighting for their lives in a private hospital. “We are in a dark cloud that we have to clear very soon,” deputy health minister John Mangwiro told dpa. Mangwiro revealed plans to intensify the current lockdown, which has been in ...
Napoli star Victor Osimhen recovers from coronavirus
Serie A club Napoli have announced Victor Osimhen has recovered from coronavirus. Osimhen, 22, is also expected to start individual training on Saturday following a shoulder injury according to Sky Sport Italia. The forward tested positive for COVID-19 upon his return from Christmas holiday. Napoli confirmed that the Nigeria international received a negative result from the last swab test. “Victor #Osimhen has recovered from #COVID19 💪, “reads a tweet on the club’s official Twitter handle on Friday. The former Lille of France striker dislocated his shoulder while on international duty with Nigeria in November 2020. Osimhen has not played for Napoli since he scored the winning goal against Bologna on November 8, 2020. He has scored twice in eight league appearances for the Partenope...
Dr Dre back to work after suffering brain aneurysm
American music mogul Dr Dre looks back in good health as he returns to the music studio, just a day after leaving the hospital following a brain aneurysm. The 55-year-old music producer and rapper can be seen looking healthy and confident in a photo taken by his colleague, music producer Focus which he shared on his Instagram page on Saturday, dailymail .com reports. Dre kept his look casual as he returned to making music with a simple black hoodie and matching black jeans. The Chronic hitmaker, who normally sports a clean-cut look, showed off a close-cropped salt-and-pepper beard as he sat at the mixing console. He was surrounded by producers and rappers celebrating his return to good health. ‘My Big Bro is Super Good!!!’ Focus gushed in his caption. ‘We Working’ he added, before clarifyi...
Rivers: Robbery suspect arrested with police identity card
A suspected armed robber who was among two suspects arrested by security guards and residents of Elekahia Housing Estate was seen with an identity card of Nigeria Police Force, suggesting he might be their personnel. Newsmen gathered that the suspected were arrested on Saturday night after successfully robbing two ladies, but could not escape from the estate because of the presence of local vigilance group. President of Elekahia Progressive Youth, Prince One Aholu, confirmed the arrest to journalists, saying he got the report that the suspects were arrested during a robbery operation in the area by local vigilance team Aholu said the security guards alerted Police officers from Elekahia Divisional Police Station in Port Harcourt, who responded swiftly and arrested the suspects. The youth p...
Cult clash claims four lives in Cross River
Tebogo Letsie/Associated Press A clash between two cult groups has allegedly left four persons dead at Bakassi in Cross River State. Eyewitnesses said the clash started on Thursday with the killing of one person at Ekpri Ikang and has been raging till Saturday night. A resident of the Bakassi who gave her name as Etido said one person was killed on Thursday, one on Friday and two persons on Saturday. “I do not know the specific groups involved in the war but I can tell you that we have been experiencing regular gunshots and people running helter-skelter because of one group chasing members of the other group”. She said the killings on Friday and Saturday seem to be retaliation by members for the killing of their members by warring groups. She said many people in the Bakassi have been stayi...
Pfizer, BioNTech to limit delays of vaccine shipments to one week
Pfizer and BioNTech said Saturday they will limit the delays of their vaccine deliveries to just one week, after fears in Europe that shipments of the jabs could be slowed for up to a month. The US drugmaker and its German partner “have developed a plan that will allow the scale-up of manufacturing capacities in Europe and deliver significantly more doses in the second quarter,” they said in a joint statement. “As a result, our facility in Puurs, Belgium will experience a temporary reduction in the number of doses delivered in the upcoming week.” Pfizer and BioNTech pledged that deliveries would be back to the original schedule to the European Union from the week of January 25, with increased delivery from the week of February 15. “To accomplish this, certain modifications of production pr...
Niger debunks plan to recruit youths to fight bandits
Niger state government has debunked reports making round in the state that the government is planning to engage youths to fight against banditry in the state. Newsmen learnt that a social media post has been making rounds across the state on Saturday morning that the state government has concluded plans to recruit about 4,000 youths across the 25 local government areas of the state to fight the security challenge in the state. The Commissioner for Local Government, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mallam Abdulmalik Sarkin Daji stated this in a statement made available to newsmen in Minna on Saturday. He said that although the state is faced with serious security challenges, the government has no immediate plan to engage the youths in the fight against armed bandits. According...
France to tighten legislation on incest – president
France will tighten its laws on incest, President Emmanuel Macron said in a series of tweets on Saturday, after publication of a book accusing a top French political commentator of abusing his stepson sparked outrage across the country. Macron said on his Twitter account that France needs to adapt its laws to better protect children from sexual violence and he had asked the justice minister to chair a consultation aimed at quickly making legislative proposals. “We will go after the aggressors,” Macron said. Macron said France had already increased the statute of limitations on incest to 30 years, counted from the legal age of majority of the victim, and had tightened controls on people working with children, but he said much more needed to be done. He said that as part of current routine m...