Issues
Pastor kills, buries wife in Akwa Ibom
A pastor in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria’s South-south, has been detained by the police for allegedly killing his wife. The incident happened at a village called Ikot Ataku, Okon, in Eket Local Government Area. The pastor has been identified as Chris Enoch, the founder of Omega Word Global Ministries. He is from Ebonyi State, Nigeria’s South-east. The youth president of Okon Clan, Effiong Johnson told newsmen, Wednesday night, that Mr Enoch killed the wife, Patient, seven days ago and buried her corpse in the shallow grave inside their gated compound where they have been living with their five children. The eldest child is 15 years old. Mr Enoch’s church has been operating inside the same compound which is rented. The community became suspicious when the pastor’s children complained to neighbo...
Joe Biden pointedly asks Vladimir Putin about cyberattacks at summit
U.S. President Joe Biden asked Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday how he would feel if someone carried out a ransomware attack on Russian oil pipelines, a pointed question during their summit that illustrated the breadth of their disagreements. The query referred to a cyberattack that closed the Colonial Pipeline Co system for several days in May, preventing millions of barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from flowing to the U.S. East Coast from the Gulf Coast. Both leaders described their first summit in a lakeside Swiss villa as professional, rather than friendly, and said they agreed to hold lower-level talks on cybersecurity and arms control and to send their ambassadors back to their capitals. But there was no hiding their differences on issues such as human rights, wh...
Commissioners urge partners to support ongoing efforts to ensure security in schools
The Commissioners of Education in the 19 Northern States have urged development partners to support the ongoing efforts to ensure security in schools. The commissioners made the call in a communique issued in Kaduna on Wednesday, at the end of a meeting on Students Exchange Programme (SEP), held in Kano. The communique was signed by the Chairman, Shehu Muhammad, who is also the Commissioner of Education, Kaduna State. The meeting was organised to discuss pressing issues affecting education in the region. The commissioners suggested that community members and education ‘stakeholders’ be part of the security architecture to ensuring security in schools in the region and the country. They appealed to the federal, state governments, development partners, parents, non-governmental organisations...
Imama Amapakabo: Why Andre Onana should consider Arsenal move
Andre Onana leaving Ajax and joining Arsenal would be “a good move” for the Cameroon international, according to former Nigeria U23 coach Imama Amapakabo. The Gunners have held discussions with the 25-year-old’s representatives, albeit, they have yet to decide whether they will step up their chase of the goalkeeper. Arsenal was on the lookout for a keeper following the departure of Emiliano Martinez in September 2020 and the underwhelming form of summer recruit Alex Runarsson. Despite technical director Edu and Mikel Arteta being big admirers of Onana, financial issues prevented the North London outfit from making a firm offer, instead they opted to sign Mat Ryan on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion. Amapakabo – who was a goalkeeper during his active career – and was part of the Nigeria...
Ondo governor: Why Amotekun will transform into state police
Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on Saturday said that the State Security Network codenamed Amotekun Corps would eventually transform into a State Police overtime. Akeredolu, who insisted that every federating unit in the country should have its own police for effective security, noted that there was no serious attempt to redesign the nation’s security architecture to respond to the demands of a nascent country at the time of independence. Speaking at the 2021 Democracy Day lecture held in Akure, the state capital, the governor also said that he does not believe in secession. At the event held at the International Event Centre (DOME), Akeredolu said the local government could not be absolutely autonomous and that the Federal Government should have no control, whatsoever, over h...
Eight killed in Gombe land tussle – council chief
The Chairman of Shongom Local Government Area in Gombe State, Yohanna Nahari, has said eight persons were killed in a land tussle in the area. Nahari made this revelation during the weekend, in an interview with our correspondent shortly after a peace parley organised by the Federal Lawmaker, representing Kaltungo/Shongom constituency in the House of Representatives, Simon Karu. The council boss, while appealing to residents to ensure that the land tussle is not revisited, commended the concern of the federal lawmaker in mitigating possible reoccurrence of the violence, adding that justice is a panacea. Recall that crisis erupted in some parts of the local government where 50 houses and a woman were burnt due to a land tussle. When asked the number of people killed during the crisis, Nahar...
UK: Some countries are using coronavirus vaccines as a geopolitical tool
British foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Friday there was no doubt some countries were using vaccines as a diplomatic tool to secure influence but Britain did not support so-called vaccine diplomacy. Raab was speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a G7 summit in Cornwall, southwestern England, that was likely to be dominated by the West’s attempts to reassert its influence as the world looks to rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. Western diplomats fear Russia and China are using their vaccines to gain influence across the world, especially in poorer countries that do not have their own production or the means to buy shots on the international market. Asked whether he was concerned that China and Russia could use vaccines in exchange for influence, Raab said: “There’s no doubt there’s...
ASUP: Why we suspended strike after 65 days
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has suspended its 65 days industrial strike with effect from Thursday, following an agreement reached between the union and the federal government. A statement by Mr Abdullahi Yalwa, National Publicity Secretary of ASUP and made available to newsmen in Bauchi, announced on Wednesday. According to the statement, “the suspension of the strike action was for a period of three months, to enable the government complete the implementation of the issues contained in the Memorandum of Action signed with the Union. “Following an appraisal of the report indicating the gradual implementation of the items contained in the Memorandum of Action signed between our Union and the Federal Government, the Union has resolved to suspend its 65 days old industrial...
NPC: Census will not consider religion, ethnicity
The National Population Commission says the population census will not take into consideration the number of adherents of any religion or the number of members of ethnic groups. It, therefore, denied including a religious category in the questionnaires being distributed in the first pre-test exercise for the next population and housing census in the country. The Director, Public Affairs of the NPC, Udi Joseph, said this in a statement on Wednesday while reacting to viral Whatsapp messages claiming the NPC had made two separate categories for Muslims and one category for Christians in its questionnaire. In a statement titled, ‘NPC Refutes Fake News on Religion in Census Questionnaires’, the organisation said even in previous population census exercises, religion and ethnicity were not consi...
Foodstuff, cattle dealers threaten to stop supply to Southern Nigeria
The Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AFUCDN) has again threatened to stop food supply to the South and other parts of the country. The union said it would carry out this threat within three weeks if governments at all levels failed to meet its demands within three weeks. National President of the AFUCDN, Muhammed Tahir, who spoke with journalists at the end of an emergency meeting of the union in Abuja on Tuesday evening, lamented that since the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, intervened in the last three months, which led to the suspension of their six-day industrial action, nothing had been done on the union’s agitation. The union had in March 2021 gone on strike and stopped supply of foodstuffs to the South following allegations of killings of its members...
Iran says nuclear talks policy won’t change after presidential vote
Iran’s policy in talks with world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear accord will remain unchanged after a June 18 presidential election because the issue is decided by its highest leadership, a government spokesman said on Tuesday. A host of barriers to the revival of the nuclear deal remain firmly in place ahead of talks due to resume this week, suggesting a return to compliance with the accord is still a way off, diplomats, Iranian officials and analysts said. “We have shown that we adhere to our international obligations under all circumstances, and this was a national decision,” cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei told a weekly news conference. Rabiei said Iran’s nuclear policy, set by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is not linked to internal developments and that the new government wou...
Taiwan reports largest incursion yet by Chinese air force
Twenty-eight Chinese air force aircraft, including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers, entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday, the island’s government said, the largest reported incursion to date. While there was no immediate comment from Beijing, the news comes after the Group of Seven leaders issued a joint statement on Sunday scolding China for a series of issues and underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, comments China condemned as “slander”. Chinese-claimed Taiwan has complained over the last few months of repeated missions by China’s air force near the self-ruled island, concentrated in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands. The latest Chinese mission involved 14 J-16 ...