News

Friday, 24 March 2017 17:34

Ife clash: IGP justifies arrest of only Yoruba suspects

Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, on Friday justified the arrest of only suspects of Yoruba extraction over the recent clash in Ile-Ife, Osun State, which resulted in the death of about 46 persons. He said crime neither has tribe nor identity. Idris spoke with State House correspondents shortly after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari of security situations in parts of the country inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The police had been in the eye of the storm for arresting and parading 20 Yoruba persons, including a monarch, over the clash while not a single Hausa/Fulani person was detained. Pan-Yoruba group,…

Friday, 24 March 2017 17:32

Ahmadu Bello University reacts to Dino Melaye certificate controversy

Ahmadu Bełlo University, ABU, Zaria has said it would not release information on the controversy surrounding the academic certificate of Dino Melaye, All Progressives Congress senator representing Kogi West District, until formally approached by the Senate. Melaye, who says he graduated from the university with a degree in Geography, was last week accused of making false claim. The online newspaper, Sahara Reporters, said Mr. Melaye did not graduate from ABU. Melaye has denied the allegation. “To say that I did not graduate from ABU is to say that I am not a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria", Mr.…

Friday, 24 March 2017 17:27

Geologist for Shell says company hid Nigeria spill dangers

Royal Dutch Shell's Nigeria subsidiary "fiercely opposed" environmental testing and is concealing data showing thousands of Nigerians are exposed to health hazards from a stalled cleanup of the worst oil spills in the West African nation's history, according to a German geologist contracted by the Dutch-British multinational. An environmental study found "astonishingly high" pollution levels with soil "literally soaked with hydrocarbons," geologist Kay Holtzmann wrote in a letter to the Bodo Mediation Initiative. The people of Bodo in the oil-producing southern Niger Delta should get urgent medical tests, Holtzmann wrote in the letter dated Jan. 26 and seen by The…

Friday, 24 March 2017 17:24

U.S. sanctions 30 firms, individuals for aiding Iran, North Korea arms programs

United States has imposed sanctions on 30 foreign companies or individuals for transferring sensitive technology to Iran for its missile program or for violating export controls on Iran, North Korea and Syria, the State Department said on Friday. Eleven companies or individuals from China, North Korea or the United Arab Emirates were sanctioned for technology transfers that could boost Tehran's ballistic missile program, the State Department said in a statement. Nineteen entities or individuals were sanctioned for other violations under the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act, it said. They are believed to have transferred or acquired sensitive technology…

Friday, 24 March 2017 04:07

Grass-cutting probe: Contracts awarded to 20 ‘ghost’ firms – Senate panel

The Senate on Thursday said it had not been able to trace the addresses of about 20 contractors engaged for the execution of various projects in the rehabilitation of the North-East. An investigative hearing by the Senate on the alleged management of funds meant for the rehabilitation of the North-East, billed to hold on Thursday, had been botched by the non-appearance of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal. Chairman, Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East, Senator Shehu Sani, said the probe was not a witch-hunt against the SGF, whose office oversees…

Friday, 24 March 2017 04:06

Buhari nominates 27 INEC Electoral Commissioners: Here's the full list

President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated 27 persons as Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Senate President Bukola Saraki on Thursday read a letter from the presidency requesting the confirmation of the 27 nominees in compliance with the provision of the section 14(3)(a) of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution. The letter was dated February 27 and signed by Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo at the time he was acting on President Muhammadu Buhari’s behalf. But the letter was at the office of Mr. Saraki on Tuesday, February 21. Since March 4, 33 states have been without…

Friday, 24 March 2017 04:04

Senate rejects 2 ambassadorial nominees

The Senate yesterday rejected two out of the 47 non-career ambassadorial nominees sent for confirmation by President Muhammadu Buhari. Those rejected are 82-year old Justice Sylvanus Nsofor from Imo State and 59-year old Daodu Igbekele Jacob from Ondo State. The Senate, however, confirmed 45 nominees. Adopting report of its committee on foreign affairs, chaired by Senator Monsurat Sunmonu (APC, Oyo) the Senate said the two rejected nominees failed in some areas. On the 82-year old Nsofor, the report said: “The nominee has served mostly in the academia and the legal profession, both here in Nigeria and abroad. Although he was…

Friday, 24 March 2017 04:02

It's a lie, we didn't endorse Magu - Transparency International

Recent reports that Transparency International (TI) in the United Kingdom had endorsed acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu has proven to be false. A statement issued by the anti-corruption body, EFCC, had said that the international anti-corruption monitor had endorsed Magu as an anti-corruption icon. The statement of the EFCC had come on the heels of the rejection of Magu by the Senate as the nominee for confirmation to head the commission. However, in a statement by TI announcing the event which Magu was invited to, it was categorically stated that the invitation was not…

Friday, 24 March 2017 03:59

Kaduna Airport unsafe - Reps

House of Representatives yesterday raised safety concerns at Kaduna International Airport and mandated its committee on aviation to ascertain that acceptable standards are met at the airport. The House also asked the committee to inspect ongoing rehabilitation at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja and report back within one week. Kaduna airport currently serves as an alternative following the closure of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja for repair works The decision to investigate the agency was taken following adoption of a motion presented by Hon. Adeyinka Ajayi (APC, Osun) on the need to re- view and ensure that Kaduna International…

Friday, 24 March 2017 03:58

Ile-Ife clash: More Yoruba lawyers move to Abuja

Following arrest and parade of 20 indigenes of Ile-Ife, who are being held for their alleged involvement in the recent clash between the Yoruba and Hausa communities in the town, more lawyers have moved to Abuja to beef up the legal team for the accused persons. National Publicity Secretary of pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, Mr Yinka Odumakin said that “the lawyers are already in Abuja and were also at the Force Headquarters, they have seen the suspects, they interacted with them and they are in high spirits.” Also, Afenifere will hold an emergency meeting in the Akure home of the…

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Friday, 24 March 2017 03:54

Yet another 155 Nigerians return from Libya

Two weeks after 171 Nigerians voluntarily returned home from Libya, 155 others followed suit on Thursday aboard a chartered Nouvel Air aircraft with registration number TS-1NB. The aircraft landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 6.00 p.m. Like the initial group which returned on March 7 after being stranded in Libya while enroute Europe, the returnees were brought back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Nigerian Embassy in Libya. They were received at the Hajj Camp area of the airport by officers of Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), National Agency for the Protection of Trafficking…

Friday, 24 March 2017 03:51

Jehovah’s Witnesses mobilise global response to Russia's ban threat

Threatened with an imminent ban on their worship in Russia, Jehovah’s Witnesses are responding with a direct appeal to Kremlin and Supreme Court officials for relief through a global letter-writing campaign. Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses is inviting the over 8,000,000 Witnesses worldwide to participate. On March 15, 2017, Russia’s Ministry of Justice filed a claim with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to label Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia as extremist and liquidate it. The claim also seeks to ban activities of the Administrative Center. If the Supreme Court upholds this claim, the Witnesses’ national headquarters…

Thursday, 23 March 2017 17:07

FG introduces Visa on arrival for foreign investors, others

Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has announced the introduction of a liberalised online Visa on Arrival (VOA) facility to the public, especially foreign investors willing to invest in Nigeria. Comptroller-General of the NIS, Mr Muhammad Babandede, made the announcement on Thursday in Abuja. Babandede said that‎ the measure was part of the resolution of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) aimed at attracting foreign investors to the country. “‎As a critical member of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), the NIS has automated its visa application and processing services at all entry points. “This is to ensure that all…

Thursday, 23 March 2017 17:05

Grass-cutting scam: SGF recants, asks Senate to reschedule appearance

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Babachir Lawal, has made a U-turn on his legal action against the Senate on its probe into the alleged management of funds meant for the rehabilitation of the North-East. Lawal urged the Senate to reschedule his appearance before its Ad Hoc Committee on Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East which is carrying out the investigation. SGF, in the letter to the upper chamber on Wednesday, said he had dragged the Senate to court over the probe. Lawal, in the letter to the committee, said he would not appear before the probe panel…

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