News

Monday, 12 December 2016 02:55

FG in secret talks with N’Delta militants

Despite its reluctance to officially set up a negotiating committee to hold talks with militants in the Niger Delta, the federal government has continued discreet talks with the belligerent groups in the region. It was gathered that at least three meetings had taken place in the last few months between the militants and federal government emissaries coordinated by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Mohammed Moguno (rtd). The backroom discussions, which have incorporated other smaller aggrieved groups, are continuing, it was learnt, just as there is growing anxiety among elders and leaders in the region over the inability of…

Monday, 12 December 2016 02:54

DISCOs performing worse than PHCN, NEPA - Senate

The Senate has lampooned Electricity Distribution Companies, DISCOS, operating in the country, saying they were worse than defunct Power Holdings Company of Nigeria, PHCN, and National Electric Power Authority, NEPA. According to the Senate, unless a serious collaboration is put in place between the Federal Government and DISCOs, the power sector is heading for a total collapse. The Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy, chaired by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, made these observations in Kaduna, weekend, during an oversight function on electricity companies and power parastatals. The committee also frowned at the failure of DISCOs to submit their audit…

Monday, 12 December 2016 02:48

Survivors relive how Uyo church building collapsed

Some of the survivors of Saturday’s collapsed church building in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, have recounted their ordeal, saying they escaped by the grace of God. Reigners Bible Church International’s building collapsed during a service, killing many worshippers and leaving several others wounded. Governor Udom Emmanuel was the special guest of honour at the special service to inaugurate a bishop. He was there with some of his commissioners and special advisers. Some of the victims of the disaster are receiving treatment at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH). One of the victims, Mr. Thompson Emmanuel, who hailed…

Monday, 12 December 2016 02:47

WAEC certificate valid for life – Registrar

Registrar West African Examination Council, WAEC, Dr Iyi Uwadiae, says the certificate issued by the examination body is valid for life. Uwadiae, who stated this in Lagos said that examination conducted by WAEC “is an achievement test’’ which remains valid forever. He spoke against the backdrop of recent moves to increase the validity period of the Unified Test and Matriculation Examination (UTME) result, conducted by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), from one to three years. “WAEC is an achievement test. So, ours is to say at this level, like in Nigeria, we are for senior secondary. “So at…

Monday, 12 December 2016 02:45

D. O. Fagunwa's family marks 53 years of Yoruba author's departure

The family of the Late foremost Yoruba writer and pioneer author of the classics, Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmale, Daniel Olorunfemi Fagunwa, popularly known as D. O. Fagunwa, has marked 53 years of his departure from this earth. Fagunwa, author of Yoruba novels of magical realism, died on December 7, 1963 in a boat capsize. He died at the bank of River Wuya, near Bida, in present day Niger State, on his way back to Ibadan, from a working visit to Kano. He was buried on the 10th of December, at the St Lukes Anglican Church Cemetery, Oke-Igbo, Ondo State.…

Sunday, 11 December 2016 18:37

Two girl suicide bombers kill at least three in Maiduguri - official

Two girl suicide bombers killed at least three people and wounded 17 at a market in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Sunday, a spokesman for state emergency agency NEMA, Sani Datti, said. Residents said about nine people had been killed. Boko Haram Islamists have been waging an insurgency for seven years in the region to try to establish an Islamic state. The jihadists have frequently targeted crowded areas - such as markets, places of worship and refugee camps - in suicide bomb attacks across northeast Nigeria and in neighbouring Cameroon and Niger. They have killed some 15,000 people…

Sunday, 11 December 2016 18:32

Goods worth billions of naira destroyed in Edo shopping mall fire

Fire on Sunday razed a popular shopping mall, Phill-Hallmark Supermarket, in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State capital, ‎destroying goods worth billions of naira. It was gathered that the fire started at about 2am, when only a few of the staff were present. Several goods worth billions of naira were said to have been affected by the fire. The supermarket houses several sections, including a boutique, bakery, food and beverages as well as home appliances‎. The mall was also said to have over 50 employees and had recently undergone a major renovation. When our correspondent got to the scene…

Sunday, 11 December 2016 01:43

Gov escapes death as 200 die in A’Ibom church collapse

Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, narrowly escaped death on Saturday as the building of Reigners’ Bible Church Int’l Inc, along Uyo Village Road, Uyo, the state capital, collapsed during service. The incident left about 200 worshippers dead. Sources said it took the efforts of the governor’s security officers to whisk him away to safety. He was said to have sustained a minor injury. SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that the governor was in the church attending the ordination of the church’s Presiding Pastor, Bishop Elect Akan Weeks, when the building gave way few minutes before offering period. One of…

Sunday, 11 December 2016 01:42

How two suicide bombers beat security to wreak havoc in Adamawa – Eye witness

Eyewitness accounts recounted how the incident occurred. Mama Bulus, a popular grains dealer in the market, gave her own version as a well planned and co-ordinated attacks that took everybody by surprise. According to her, the suicide bombers took their time, watched buyers and sellers to commence full business at about 12 noon that day before the blasts went off. “The grains section of the market is where buyers and sellers gather most now in this market. This is because it is the season of harvest and farmers from far and near are bringing in their goods for prospective buyers”,…

Saturday, 10 December 2016 16:22

Church building collapses in Akwa Ibom, many feared dead

A church building has collapsed in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, with many feared dead. The Reigners Bible Church, located along Village Road, was filled to capacity because its pastor was being consecrated as a Bishop, when the tragedy occurred, witnesses said. “Pastor Akan Week was being consecrated today so the programme was holding inside the Church when suddenly, the whole building collapsed,” one witness said. The witness said the Church was being renovated and upgraded because of the expected high number of guests on Saturday. “Many people are buried under the debris as emergency workers continue rescue exercise,” he said.…

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Saturday, 10 December 2016 02:08

Religious groups, leaders to Buhari: Nigerians are hungry

Religious bodies in the country have described the policies of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration as increasing hunger in the land. Similarly, leaders of various Christian and Islamic groups in the country took a swipe at the Federal Government, noting that its policies had led to loss of jobs, closure of companies and “massive” hunger in the country. The clerics said the economic policies of the government had failed to have positive impact on the lives of Nigerians, calling on President Buhari to review the situation. For instance, the Christian Association of Nigeria said Nigerians were “truly passing through hunger, hard…

Saturday, 10 December 2016 02:07

Fayemi acted illegally in Ekiti, Supreme Court says

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the payment of N3.3 billion to local government chairmen and councillors who were relieved of their duties by former Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State. The former governor, now the Minister of Solid Minerals, had in 2010 during his assumption into office as governor relieved the appellants of their duties 15 months into the end of their tenures. Dr Fayemi had appointed caretaker committee into his government to carry out most of the functions that the local government chairmen and councillors would have done. In a unanimous judgment read by Justice Chima Nweze, the…

Saturday, 10 December 2016 02:05

Train accident cripples businesses in Aba

An early morning Umuahia-Port Harcourt bound train with number 2212 on Friday ran into an articulated vehicle in Aba but without casualties. Both the train and the vehicle were damaged. The accident, which damaged the electrical connections in the train’s engine, left it immovable on one part of the road, crippling traffic for many hours in the town. The accident also left business people and workers stranded in a gridlock, thereby making it hard for them to attend to their businesses. The accident happened at about 5:45 a.m. Mr Cyril Ohaegbu, a bread seller whose shop is by the Railway…

Saturday, 10 December 2016 02:04

Update: Schoolgirl suicide bombers kill 56 in Nigerian market - official

Two schoolgirl suicide bombers killed 56 people and wounded dozens more in a coordinated attack on a crowded market in the northeastern Nigerian town of Madagali on Friday, a local official said. The bombings bore the hallmark of Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has been waging an insurgency to set up a state adhering to a strict interpretation of Muslim laws in the northeast. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Yusuf Mohammed, chairman of the local district government, said the bombings left 56 people dead and wounded 57. Major Badare Akintoye, a spokesman for an army unit in…

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