United Kingdom
IPOB’s lawyer reacts to Nnamdi Kanu’s arrest, extradition
The lead counsel to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has said the arrest and arraignment of Nnamdi Kanu earlier Tuesday was without his knowledge. “We have just confirmed through a correspondence from the Federal High Court Abuja about the arrest and the extradition of my Client- Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by the Nigerian State,” Mr Ejiofor said in a statement on Tuesday evening. “He was brought before the Federal High Court No 2 Abuja today on an Eleven count charge, though without our knowledge,” the attorney added. He said regardless of the offences or charge against his client, he is still presumed innocent of the allegation under the law. Mr Kanu, who is being prosecuted on charges of treasonable felony, was re-arrested and returned to Nigeria on Sunday, the A...
Italian premier calls for Euros final to be moved from Wembley
The prime minister of Italy has called for the Euro 2020 final to be moved from Wembley due to coronavirus concerns. Mario Draghi says the level of infection in the United Kingdom means alternative venues must be considered. “I will try to stop the final being held in a country where infections are rising quickly,” he said on Monday when asked if Rome could be considered a possible replacement. Wembley is due to host five knockout matches, including both semi-finals and then the final on July 11. Italy will also play their last-16 game in London against Austria on June 26. Cases of COVID-19 have been increasing in recent weeks in the UK, fuelled by the Delta variant first identified in India, with a further 10,633 confirmed on Monday. There are also still strict travel restrictions in plac...
WHO seeks G7 support to meet vaccination targets
The Director-General, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus has solicited the support of G7 health ministers to meet vaccination targets by the end of the year. In his remarks at the G7 Health Ministers’ meeting in Oxford, Ghebreyesus appealed to the ministers to provide leadership for strengthening WHO on sustainable financing. “First, we seek your support for reaching our vaccination targets for September and the end of the year; sharing doses with COVAX now is essential for achieving those targets. “We need 250 million doses by September and we need 100 million doses just in June and July. “As G7 nations, you are in a unique position to pool doses and make this happen; second, we seek your leadership for strengthening WHO, including through sustainable and predictable f...
House summon AGF over ‘blockage’ of $60 billion repatriation
The House of Representatives has again summoned the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) for allegedly halting the repatriation of $60 billion loot from Texas, United States of America. The Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loots – Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by Agencies of the federal government for Effective Efficient Management and Utilisation, Rep. Adejoro Adeogun, summoned Malami on Wednesday in Abuja when a former Special Prosecutor to the Special Presidential Investigation Panel (SPIP), Mr Tosin Ojaomo, appeared before it. He also revealed that before the panel which was headed by Okoi Obono-Obla was disbanded, it investigated the Auditor General of the Federation for the withdra...
Facebook report: U.S. a top target for foreign and domestic influence operations
The United States topped a list of the countries most frequently targeted by deceptive foreign influence operations using Facebook between 2017 and 2020, the social media company said in a new report released on Wednesday. It also came second on a list of countries targeted by domestic influence operations in that same time period. Facebook Inc said one of the top sources of coordinated inauthentic behavior networks targeting the United States in the year leading up to the 2020 presidential election was domestic campaigns originating in the United States itself, as well as foreign operations from Russia and Iran. The tallies were based on the number of “coordinated inauthentic behavior” networks removed by Facebook, a term it uses for a type of influence operations that relies on fake acco...
President Buhari seeks international support for peaceful transition in Chad
President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday called on the international community to support a peaceful transition from military to democratic government in Chad. He made this known at a summit put together to discuss recent developments in Chad after the death of President Idris Deby last April. At the summit, Mr Buhari called on: “development partners and countries particularly France, the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Russia; the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union, as well as other friendly and partner nations to support the transition framework put in place by Chad’s Transition Military Council led by General Mahamat Idris Deby.” ‘‘The need to support the Chadian government to effectively carry out its planned 18-month transition is sacrosanc...
SERAP urges President Buhari to tell Nigerians spending plan for James Ibori loot, others
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “urgently direct Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to disclose spending details of the $700 million looted funds reportedly recovered by the Federal Government in the past four years, including the list and location of projects completed with the money, as well as details of the contractors that executed the projects.” SERAP also urged him to “direct Mrs Ahmed to disclose how the government plans to spend the returned £4.2m Ibori loot, including details of planned capital expenditure, and whether there is any plan to ensure that the money and any future returned Ibori loot would be spent to achieve justice and effective remedies for victims of corruption in...
Nigeria’s chief of army staff dies in plane crash
General Ibrahim Attahiru, the Chief of Army Staff, has died in a plane crash. Details of the incident are still sketchy but a military source told newsmen that it happened in Kaduna on Friday. In a statement, the Nigerian Air Force confirmed that there was an accident involving one of its aircraft in Kaduna but did not go into details. “An air crash involving a @NigAirForce aircraft occurred this evening near the Kaduna International Airport. The immediate cause of the crash is still being ascertained. More details to follow soon,” read the statement signed by Edward Gabkwet, the force’s Director of Public Relations and Information. A source said there were eight persons on board the aircraft. Attahiru was appointed Chief of Army Staff on January 26, 2021. Born on 10th August 1966 in Doka,...
Mass Gatherings Are No More Risky Than Shopping, According to Study
According to data gathered by the United Kingdom government’s Event Research Programme, mass gatherings and events without COVID-19 safety measures—like social distancing and face coverings—are no riskier than retail shopping or eating at a restaurant. Pilot events were held in Liverpool over the May Bank Holiday weekend without those safety regulations in place. Additional events like the FA Cup final and the 2021 BRIT Awards took place, with admission granted only to those with negative COVID-19 test results. A large crowd at a Fabric London event. Fabric London “We are still waiting for the final bits of data but the results so far have been very encouraging,” a government representative told The Times. “It will help make the case that these large events are not i...
James Ibori loot: Delta asks federal government to return recovered fund to state
Delta State Government on Tuesday reacted to receipt by the Nigerian government of the £4.2 million first tranche of the Ibori loot from the goverment of the United Kingdom. The state government restated its earlier stand that since the returned money was illegally taken out of Delta’s Treasury, it should appropriately be returned to Delta State. This is coming on the dissolution, on Tuesday, of the Delta State Executive Council (EXCO) with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa asking the Secretary to State Government (SSG), all civil commissioners and the governor’s aides to surrender all vital government documents and property to their respective permanent secretaries in the ministries, departments and agencies. The outgoing state commissioner for information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, reiterated the positio...
Watch This DJ Rip Drum & Bass DJ Sets While Riding His Bike Around the UK
Livestreamed DJ sets have gained massive popularity since music fans across the world found themselves in lockdown due to COVID-19. We’ve seen some impressive production in those streams—virtual nightclubs to remote locations—but no DJ is approaching streaming quite like Dom Whiting. Eight weeks ago, Whiting launched the first installment of “Drum & Bass On The Bike,” and yes—it’s exactly what it sounds like. Whiting has rigged a Pioneer DJ mixer onto his bicycle and has been riding around UK cities while performing DJ sets. The series of cleverly executed and overall impressive streams began in Marlow on March 21st, when Whiting strolled around town with drum breaks and reese basses echoing around him as he managed to make clean transitions—and not ru...
NBC fines Channels TV, inspiration FM N5 million each for broadcast code infractions
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has directed Channels TV and Inspiration FM Lagos to pay a fine N5 million each for infractions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code. Prof. Armstrong Idachaba, the Acting Director-General of the commission, announced this in a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja. Idachaba explained that NBC on Monday, April 26, served Channels TV a letter indicating the station’s culpability and liability for infractions of the Code in respect to its broadcast of “Politics Today” of Sunday, April 25. The acting D-G stated that the station violated Sections 3.11.1(b) and 5.4.3 of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code. Similarly, Idachaba said that on May 2, in its World Report, Inspiration FM Lagos aired broadcast of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) maki...