Nigeria
Sokoto villages deserted as bandits kill residents
Suspected bandits have raided some communities in the eastern part of Sokoto state, killing four persons and rustled several livestock. Colonel Garba Moyi (rtd), the state Commissioner for Carrier and Security Matters, confirmed the attacks, saying three persons were killed at Bargaja village in Isa local government area while one was killed in a community under Sabon Birni local government. Newsmen learnt that the attackers invaded Bargaja around 2pm on Thursday, shooting sporadically. A resident said six persons were shot in the village, but only three died while the remaining three are currently receiving treatment in the hospitals. A resident of Isa who identified himself as Surajo, told newsmen that inhabitants of Bargaja, Tozai, Turba and Danzanke have all relocated to Isa town follo...
Chukwuma Soludo: Why I joined Anambra governorship race
Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, says he is in the governorship race of Anambra to make the South-East geopolitical zone an island of prosperity. Newsmen report that Soludo will run for the Nov. 6 poll on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). In an interaction with newsmen on Saturday in Awka, he said the South-East had become largely unlivable despite the solid foundation and infrastructure laid down by leaders for the region’s development. Soludo described the South-East as a “tiny poor place that must begin to turn into a Promised Land. “For you to create a livable society comparable to any other place, it requires a crusade for all and it must happen simultaneously in the South-East,” he said. He said Anambra had been relative...
Former NAF chief Nsikak Eduok laid to rest in Akwa Ibom
It was a harvest of tributes for a former Chief of Air Staff, late Air Marshall Nsikak Eduok as his remains were laid to rest in his hometown in Ibesikpo Asutan, Akwa Ibom state on Saturday. Chief of Air Staff, Oladayo Amao who spoke at the Ibom Hall grounds Uyo during the funeral service conducted by United Evangelical Church, Founded as Qua Iboe Church, described late AM Eduok as a man of valour, integrity and a great achiever with unprecedented strive for success. Based on these sterling attributes, the Force has decided to immortalise him by naming Ultrafit Gymnasium center at the Nigerian Air Force Base Yola after him. According to him, late Eduok was one of the best hands the force had, one who changed the landscape of the service and was mentor to many retired and serving officers. ...
Wole Soyinka to Nigerians: Don’t accept child hostage taking as a way of life
Following the Friday abduction of over 300 school children in Jangebe in Zamfara State, Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Saturday warned Nigerians against accepting kidnapping of school children in parts of the north as a way of life. Soyinka who lamented that the government and security agencies have failed Nigerians, said he did not know what else to recommend as panacea to the nation’s “abnormal times.” The octogenarian playwright spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, at the ANA Ogun award lecture and public presentation of ‘Chronicles of the happiest people on earth,’ the latest book authored by him. The event was put together by the Association of Nigerian Authors, Ogun State chapter in collaboration with Abeokuta Club. The 524 page book was launched by foremost indigenous ...
Osun governor condemns ethnic colouration in fight against terrorism
Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State has condemned the ethnic coloration in which the fight against terrorism and insurgency is taking in Nigeria. Oyetola, however, called on Nigerians to form a collective synergy with the aim of bringing an end to the worrisome security situation bedevilling the nation. Oyetola, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Oluwole Oyebamiji, on Saturday at an international colloquium organised in honour of Prof. Siyan Oyeweso’s 60th birthday and Book Launch held at Western Sun International Ede, Osun State, flayed the ethnic coloration the issue of security is taking in the country. The governor called on security operatives to go after criminals devoid of any kind of sentiment. According to him, the menace of terrorism and insur...
NAFDAC busts alleged illegal maize flour production facility in Yobe
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it has busted an alleged illegal maize flour production outfit in Potiskum town of Yobe. This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Nasiru Mato, Assistant Director, in charge of the North East Zonal office of the agency and issued in Abuja on Saturday. Mato said the facility which was using a single store space for processing of maize into flour came under regulatory scrutiny when a team of officials of the agency stormed the premises. He said the maize milling and packaging outfit was operating without adherence to set quality standards and good manufacturing practice.According to Mato, the operation is a gross violation of NAFDAC Act Cap No. 1 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (2004), hence the sanction. He...
Ex-VP Namadi Sambo advocates shift in Nigerian educational system
Reuters Former Vice President Namadi Sambo has advocated for a dynamic approach of the Nigerian educational system to produce employees with skills and ability to handle complex jobs and create opportunities for others. Sambo made the call in his goodwill message at the 22nd Matriculation of Igbinedion University, Okada, on Saturday in Edo. The former vice president noted that it was the best time for the country to refocus from one size-fits-all approach that creates employees that are not fit for complex jobs. According to him, Nigerian universities must refocus on building of graduates that will create and end poverty among the people and ultimately close the wide social inequality and promote social coefficient in the communities. “As a nation, we must focus our educational system to o...
Three injured as explosion rocks power infrastructure repair site in Maiduguri
Explosion on Saturday rocked the site where technicians were carrying out repair work on damaged power infrastructure in Maiduguri. Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram, has been in darkness for about a month now since suspected Boko Haram members damaged power lines along Maiduguri-Damaturu road. Technicians were subsequently deployed to the site and security was provided for them by a combined team of soldiers and men of the Borno State Rapid Response Team. Every day before the commencement of work by the technicians, soldiers scanned the entire area for any explosive drvice that might have been planted by Boko Haram. But on Saturday at about 10am, when technicians were getting ready to commence the day’s work, there was an explosion which destroyed a Hilux Toyota van and seriously in...
Chukwuma Soludo: I received 19 threats during banking consolidation era
YouTube The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, at the weekend in Awka, narrated how he received 19 written threats on his life following his decision to embark on banking consolidation in Nigeria in 2004 when he became the boss of the nation’s apex bank. In an interview, Soludo also recalled attempts made to kidnap his children at Offa, Kwara State where they were at the time because many people felt threatened by the policy. He said: “I am a very impatient person to see change happen and I am passionate in anything I focus on. When I was the chief economic adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo, and the tenure of the former CBN governor ended and I came in. within one month, I announced a 13 – point agenda for banking consolidation. “At...
NDLEA seizes Tramadol capsules worth N50 million in Adamawa
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized 46.8 kilograms of suspected Tramadol capsules worth N50 million in Mubi, Mubi North Local Government area of Adamawa. The NDLEA Commander in the state, Mr Idris Bello, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Yola. Bello said that the drug was seized in a house at Unguwan Madina, Mubi town. Bello explained that the command had also seized 82 blocks of compressed substance, weighing 79 kilogramme, believed to be cannabis sativa, popularly known as Indian hemp, in Lafiya-Lamurde in Lamurde Local Government area of the state. “The Adamawa Command of NDLEA, on Feb. 19, successfully arrested a suspect, with 225mg of Tramadol tablets, 100mg capsules and Diazepam tablets, all weighing 46.8 ...
Ex-DSS director: Some bandits are former Boko Haram militants
A former assistant director in the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, says some bandits are former members of the Boko Haram insurgent group. Speaking when he featured on an Arise TV programme on Saturday, Amachree said he learnt this from the confession of some bandits. He added that unlike the Niger Delta militants protesting pollution of their areas, bandits do not deserve amnesty as they are “faceless criminals”. “From investigations, we have even discovered that some of them were Boko Haram fighters,” he said. “Some of them have confessed to having fought with Boko Haram. And now, you have these people infiltrating, collecting money for ransoms, raping women and sending them back to Boko Haram. “Anybody who is comparing them to militants in the Niger Delta, I want to...
Nigerian telecoms’ workers issue 14-day ultimatum to Huawei
The Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PTECSSAN) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to Huawei Technologies Nigeria Limited to halt what it described as disregard and denial of workers’ fundamental rights to freedom of association as enshrined in Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution. Speaking to journalists in Lagos, yesterday, the General Secretary of PTECSSAN, Okonu Abdullahi, said all efforts in the past to address all the labour-related issues confronting the workers in the company have been rebuffed by its management. According to him, “All our efforts in the past to address all the labour-related issues confronting the workers in the company have been rebuffed by its management. Ultimate of which is gross disregard and denial of workers th...
