Global Naija Info

Governor Willy Obiano of Anambra State A two-storey building under construction at Ndiagu in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra has collapsed, killing three artisans. The incident occurred at about 8 a.m. on Wednesday. An eyewitness disclosed that three other persons, who sustained severe injuries, were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Those that rushed to the scene of the incident and assisted in the rescue mission included the Commissioner of Police in the State, Mr Hosea Karma and the Divisional Police Officer in Ogidi, Mr Hassan Musa. Karma, who described the death of the artisans as “unfortunate and untimely”, urged the people in the area to take heart and prayed for the repose of the souls of the dead. The police boss said that the corpses of the deceased had been taken to Iyi-Enu Hospital’s morgue. President-General of Ogidi community, Chief Chuka Onubogu, attributed the collapse to substandard building materials. Onubogu appealed to contractors and

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt Palpable fear has gripped residents of slums located in over 40 waterfronts in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, as the Nyesom Wike administration moves to demolish makeshift houses within the state capital. Governor Wike gave the hint during a familiarization visit to the management of Nigeria Agip Oil Company in Port Harcourt. He said most makeshift houses serve as hideouts for criminals in the state. The governor also directed the management of the Nigeria Agip Oil Company to provide electricity and good road networks to its host community Mgbushimini. Meanwhile,the Obio/Akpor Caretaker Committee Chairman, Collins Onuwor, has called on the people to support government’s efforts to rid the state of cultists and criminal elements. Onuwor made the call when the Bishop of Evo Diocese Anglican Church, Reverend Innocent Ordu paid him a courtesy visit at the council secretariat. The Obio/Akpor CTC boss called

Bread made in Nigeria Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt Consumers of bread in Rivers State are groaning following 20 percent increase in the price by the Association of Master Bakers. The chairman of the Association of Master Bakers in the state, Kolawole Adelegan, at a press briefing shortly after a meeting with members of the association in Port Harcourt, said the increment became effective July 10. Adelegan explained that the twenty percent increase was as a result of the high cost of baking materials. Many members of the association said they have stopped producing bread due to the high cost of baking materials and multiple taxations in Port Harcourt. Based on the new price increment, a loaf of bread that was initially sold for N250 now sells for N300 while the bigger loaf which currently sells for N400 will now sell for N450. A baker complained that the prices of baking materials like sugar, butter, preservatives, flavours, flour and others have gone up. An investigation carri

Paul Le Guen, qualified the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has chosen Paul Le Guen, as the new Super Eagles coach. According to multiple reports, the football house picked the Frenchman, from a three-man shortlist that included Salisu Yusuf and Tom Saintfiet. The Frenchman who will lead Nigeria to Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup will be officially unveiled by the NFF Technical and Development Committee on July 18, 2016. It is also understood that the NFF will consider former Kano Pillars boss, Salisu Yusuf, as an assistant coach. Yusuf had earlier said he was not interested in being second in command to anybody. The official said: “As it is now the position of the deputy has been thrown open because Yusuf is still insisting that he would not work as an assistant to Le Guen. “Those who worked on their entries picked the Frenchman and with the hope that Yusuf could learn a lot from him for the immediate future b

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The gavel of justice Two men, Olanrewaju Abdullahi and Adeyemo Taoreed, who pleaded guilty to stealing a Dell laptop worth N36,000, are to spend the next two years in a Lagos prison. An Ikorodu Magistrates’ Court presided over by Mrs Bola Olagbegi-Adelabu handed down the verdict after they admitted guilt. “Having admitted to carrying out the stealing and pleaded guilty to the one-count charge of stealing, this court hereby sentence you two to a prison term of two years each. “The sentence is with hard labour,’’ Olagbegi-Adelabu said. Abdullaji,20, and Taoreed, 20, were arraigned for stealing. Earlier in the proceeding, the prosecutor, Corporal Mary Ajiteru said that the men committed the offence on or before May 30, at No. 13, Lagos Road, Ikorodu. She told the court that the offence was committed at 4p.m, adding that it was committed alongside others who were still at large. “These two and their other accomplices stole the computer valued at N36,000 belonging to one Joel Shera

Two men, Olarenwaju Abdullaji and Adeyemo Taoreed, who pleaded guilty to stealing a Dell laptop worth N36,000, are to spend the next two years in a Lagos prison. An Ikorodu Magistrates’ Court presided over by Mrs Bola Olagbegi-Adelabu handed down the verdict after they admitted guilt. “Having admitted to carrying out the stealing and pleaded guilty to the one-count charge of stealing, this court hereby sentence you two a prison term of two years each. “The sentence is with hard labour,” Olagbegi-Adelabu said. Abdullaji,20, and Taoreed, 20, were arraigned for stealing. Earlier in the proceeding, the prosecutor, Cpl. Mary Ajiteru said that the men committed the offence on or before May 30, at No. 13, Lagos Road, Ikorodu. She told the court that the offence was committed at 4.00p.m, adding that it was committed alongside others who were still at large. “These two and their other accomplices stole the computer valued at N36,000 belonging to one Joel Sherack,” Ajiteru said. The offe

Mothers waiting for doctors at the National Hospital , Abuja A Wuse Zone 6 Chief Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday vacated the order which sealed the National Hospital Abuja. The National Hospital, Abuja, was sealed for alleged unpaid debt of N7.8million to the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB). The Magistrate, Mrs Chinyere Nwacheonwu, adjourned the case till July 18 for report of settlement. Defence Counsel Chris Mamman had made an oral application for settlement and vacation of the order. “We plead with the court to give us time to resolve the issue and we shall be asking that the seal-off order dated, June 22, 2016, be vacated. Earlier, the prosecuting counsel, Nnamdi Ugochukwu, had told the court that a summons was issued to the defendant on May 17. He told the court that the defendant received the summons on May 26, but failed to appear in court on June 8. “Another summons was issued on the defendant again which was received by Adejo Audu, Senior Consultant and Se

A 23-year-old man, Bright Gbarane, charged with rape of a 23-year-old girl, was on Wednesday remanded in prison custody by an Ota Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ogun. Gbarane, who lives at 14, Daramila Street, behind Winners Chapel, Canaanland, Ota, was alleged to have had carnal knowledge of the girl without her consent. The Prosecutor, Cpl. Abdulkareem Mustapha told the court that the accused committed the offence on June 14, 2016, at about 9 a.m. in his residence. Mustapha said that the offence contravened section 8 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Ogun, 2006. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge. The Chief Magistrate, Mrs A.I. Adelaja, in her ruling, ordered that the accused should be remanded in prison custody pending the report of the Director of Public Prosecutions in the state. The magistrate adjourned the case till Aug. 5.

Indonesia plans to execute this year at least two foreign convicts, one from Nigeria and another from Zimbabwe, the attorney general said on Wednesday. President Joko Widodo has pledged to increase the number of executions this year and next as part of his crackdown on drugs. Asked if there were any foreigners on the list of convicts to be executed, Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo told reporters: “We have foreigners, among them from Nigeria and Zimbabwe.” He did not elaborate on the crimes of which they were convicted. Prasetyo added that no convicts from the United States, Europe or Australia were on the list to be executed this year. A 59-year-old British women, Lindsay Sandiford, was sentenced to death after being convicted in 2013 of trying to smuggle cocaine worth $2.5 million into the country. A Philippine maid, Mary Jane Veloso, got a last-minute reprieve last year in response to a request from Manila after an employment recruiter, whom Veloso had accused of planting drugs

Three unemployed men, who allegedly shot and killed a 27-year-old commercial motorcyclist, were on Wednesday remanded in prison by a Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos. The accused, Hammed Tanimowo, 35; Wahab Abiodun, 36 and Okesola Oladele, 40 are facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and murder. The Magistrate, Mrs E.A. Johnson, who did not take the plea of the accused, ordered their remand pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP). She said their files should be duplicated and forwarded to DPP for advice and adjourned the matter to Aug. 8. Earlier, the Prosecutor, Cpl. Godwin Oriabure told the court that the accused committed the offences on March 26 at Isiamu area of Ikorodu in Lagos State. He said that the deceased had picked up a passenger, who was heading to Adamo in Ikorodu when they were stopped by the accused. Oriabure alleged that the deceased was shot, while the passenger managed to escape and reported the matter to a community leader

Hafsa Mossi, former Burundi minister Former Burundi minister for East African Community (EAC) affairs Hafsa Mossi has been shot dead by unknown gunmen outside her home in Bujumbura. The Former Burundian government minister and spokeswoman Hafsa Mossi was shot dead in the capital Bujumbura on Wednesday, police said. “Hon. Mossi assassinated 10.30 in Gihosha”, in the east of Bujumbura by, “two criminals in a vehicle,” police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye said on Twitter. Mossi was Burundi’s information minister and government spokeswoman between 2005-2007, and was, at the time of her death, a member of the East African Legislative Assembly, a regional parliament. Mossi, a former journalist in her 50s, was a member of President Pierre Nkurunziza’s ruling CNDD-FDD party. Nkurunziza’s controversial but ultimately successful bid for a third term last year triggered a deadly crisis that has killed more than 500 people and driven around 270,000 to leave the country. Several senior milita

Nigerian Ports Authority The Chairman, Port Consultative Council (PCC), Chief Kunle Folarin, on Wednesday advised the new Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Usman, to ensure passage of the Ports & Harbour Bill. Folarin gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. Usman, 40, was appointed on Tuesday by the Federal Government as the managing director of NPA. The PCC chairman said that there was the need to look at the enabling legislation guiding NPA. Folarin noted that for 10 years, the bill (Ports & Harbour Bill) had been in the National Assembly without being passed into law. He urged the new managing director to get the bill out of the National Assembly and ensure its transformation into a law. The bill has been in the National Assembly for years with each successive legislative assembly failing to pass it into law. The bill, which is at various stages of passage in the lower and upper chambers of the Na

The fake second lieutenant Kazeem Ugbodaga The Lagos State Task Force has arrested a man who claimed to be a Second Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army. The suspect, Mr Oluwayelu Adeboye, 27, who lives at 4 Union Street, Dopemu, Agege area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, confessed that he claimed to be a Second Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army in order to secure the release of an impounded commercial vehicle by operatives of the Lagos State Task Force. The suspect, according to investigations, was rusticated from the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, in 2014 for impersonation. He disclosed that he had at one time or the other pretended to be an officer of the Nigerian army, navy and the police in order to secure the release of anyone arrested at different police stations across Lagos. Adewole said he also carried out his illegal activities through telephone conversations for the release of impounded vehicles from different law enforcers and that if he had succeeded in his latest bid, he would

Chief Sam Ohuabunwa, former Managing Director, Neimeth Plc. Chief Sam Ohuabunwa, a former Managing Director, Neimeth Plc, has advised the Lagos Government to reconsider its impending clampdown on hawkers due to the present economic challenges. Ohuabunwa, who is the Chairman, African Centre for Business Development, Strategy and Innovation gave this advice on Wednesday in Lagos. He said this against the backdrop of the recent ban on hawking by the Lagos State Government following a violent crisis provoked by the death of a hawker. The hawker was said to be resisting arrest by officials of Lagos State Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) when he was knocked down by an articulated vehicle. He said: “I am for clean up Lagos, I am for taking off area boys I am for stopping ‘Omo Oniles’, all these group of people that can be nuisance to the society I am for taking them out, but I am for doing what is right for our economy at this time. “When the area boys were taken out they were rehabili

The Nigerian Army has assured of its readiness in checking activities of militants in the creeks of Akpabuyo and Bakassi Local Government Areas of Cross River. This is contained in a release signed by Capt. Kayode Owolabi, the Army Public Relations Officer of 13 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Calabar, on Wednesday. Owolabi also described as false claims that the two local government areas were under the control of militants. “The attention of the Headquarters 13 Brigade, Nigerian Army, has been drawn to reports that militant groups have taken over Akpabuyo and Bakassi Local Government Areas in Cross River. “We want to state that this story is baseless and has no iota of truth. “This headquarters wishes to inform the general public that our troops are on ground in Bakassi to checkmate any militant activities. “Let us categorically state that apart from some few criminal activities which have been checked by our troops, Akpabuyo and Bakassi Local Government Areas, have been generally peac

A virologist, Prof. Sunday Omilabu, has identified nine factors for the emergence and re-emergence of communicable and infectious diseases in the country. Omilabu, who is of the Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, said poor environment and over population were the major causes of the communicable and infectious diseases. He spoke at the 51st Annual Scientific Conference of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) in Lagos. The conference, which took place at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, had its theme as: “Spread of Infectious Diseases in an Increasing Population; Effects and the Way Forward”. He said that the major factors contributing to the re-emergence of diseases included the explosion in world population, especially in the developing countries, the inadequacy of social amenities, sexual behaviour, drug abuse, immune suppressions and imported food items. Omilabu said that infecti

Theresa May, new British Prime Minister Theresa May will take over the job of British prime minister from David Cameron on Wednesday and form a government with the monumental tasks of extricating Britain from the EU and uniting a fractured nation. May, who has been interior minister for six years and is seen by her supporters as a safe pair of hands to steer the country through the disruptive Brexit process, will become Britain’s second woman prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher. “I think around the cabinet table yesterday the feeling was that we have our Angela Merkel. “We have an incredibly tough, shrewd, determined and principled person to lead Brexit negotiations for Britain,’’ Jeremy Hunt, health secretary in Cameron’s team said. German Chancellor Merkel would be May’s most important counterpart on the continent as the Brexit process unfolds. Report says both women are renowned for their firmness, pragmatism and discipline. Britain’s decision to leave has rocked the blo

African Elephant Photo: National Geographic A man was killed in southern Nepal as he tried to take a selfie with a wild elephant, Parsa Wildlife Reserve authorities said on Wednesday. “The man had been driving a water tanker when he stopped to take a photograph with the animal. “The wild elephant attacked the man and killed him,’’ the officials said. The wild elephant was part of a herd moving from the western to the eastern part of the reserve, an annual movement during the monsoon. A herd of 21 jumbos made the movement on Tuesday. The elephants disrupted traffic on the highway that passes through the forest for several hours. There are 65 elephants in the Parsa Wildlife Reserve and around 170 total wild elephants in the country. About the same number are kept as working elephants at tourist resorts and government-run breeding centres. Deaths from elephant attacks are not uncommon in southern Nepal’s buffer zones near forest areas.

FILE PHOTO: President Muhammadu Buhari with PENGASSAN and NUPENG leaders at a recent meeting in Abuja The Nigerian union representing oil workers has agreed to suspend a strike that some feared would lead to fuel shortages and disrupt crude production, a petroleum ministry official and another at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said on Wednesday. The strike consisting of about 10,000 members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), including refinery workers and office staff, began on Thursday over issues that included oil sector reforms and pay. Nigeria’s energy sector has been hit hard by a prolonged drop in global crude prices and a spate of attacks by militants on oil and gas facilities in its southern Niger Delta region over the past few months, which briefly pushed oil production to 30-year lows. The officials, who asked to remain anonymous, said that an agreement to suspend the strike was reached after talks betwee

French social media was abuzz with suggestions of novel haircuts for Francois Hollande on Wednesday after it emerged that the French president’s receding hairline was maintained by a costly, round-the-clock hairdresser. Satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine triggered the fuss with a report, later confirmed by the government, that the 61-year-old was paying nearly 10,000 euros a month to keep his hair in shape. “Everyone gets haircuts,” government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said. “This hairdresser had to abandon his salon and he’s on tap 24 hours a day.” le Foll confirmed the report that Hollande’s hairdresser was paid 9,985 euros (11,066 dollars) per month but stressed that the operational budget of the presidential Elysee Palace was cut by 15 to 20 percent after Hollande took over from Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012. Twitter fans made fun of it all with altered photographs and videos, showing Hollande with rock-and-roll or punk haircuts, and in various other guises as the Queen of Engla

FILE PHOTO: A herdsman in Nigeria Kazeem Ugbodaga Worried by recent killings by herdsmen in Nigeria, the West Africa Responsibility to Protect Coalition (WAC-R2P) has called on the Federal Government to adopt measures to check the menace. The body spoke in reaction to the fresh killings of about 81 people by herdsmen in Benue State, North Central Nigeria few days ago. WAC-R2P, in a statement issued by its Executive Director, Wale Adeboye challenged the Federal Government to urgently end herdsmen atrocities in the country, lamenting that herdsmen killings had left behind devastated communities, families, friends and loved ones struggling to cope with life after and eagerly waiting to get justice and healing. “The trauma of such mass atrocities is unimaginable. The current response from the Nigerian governments and its agencies do not indicate a will to prevent and protect her population from such mass atrocities. Rather than take proactive actions to ensure perpetrators are brough

Solomon Ogba, outgoing AFN boss. No fewer than 36 athletes have been selected by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to represent the country at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil. Their names are in a statement by the AFN Technical Director, Omatseye Nesiama and made available on Wednesday in Lagos. The athletes, made up of 25 females and 11 males, will represent the country at the Games scheduled for Aug. 5 to Aug. 19. In the women’s 100m are Blessing Okagbare, Gloria Asumnu and Jennifer Madu, while the male 100m sprinters are Ogho-Oghene Egwero, Adeseye Ogunlewe and Monzavous Edwards, the statement said. It noted that Blessing Okagbare will be the only female athlete to represent the country in the women’s 200m, while the men’s 200m sprinters are Divine Oduduru and Oghenetega Odele. The quarter milers in the women’s event are Patience Okon-George, Margaret Bamgbose and Omolara Omotosho. Orukpe Eraiyokan is the only quarter miler in the men’s category, it added. In t

Some Lagos State Para-Soccer players on Tuesday said they had stepped up their preparations in order to excel at the maiden National Para-Soccer League in Kano. The league which is being organised by the Nigeria Para-Soccer Federation will hold from July 19 to July 28. The players spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday during a training session at the National Stadium, Surulere. Kazeem Garuba, a midfielder, said that the players had intensified their training so as to have a formidable team. Garuba said that the state had players that possessed the qualities needed to excel in the league. “We are battle-ready for the national league and as a team, we have set a target to perform creditably and that is what we are working toward. “Even the hot sun did not prevent us from training, that shows our commitment as a team,” he said. The midfielder urged the Lagos State Sports Council (LSSC) to provide the necessary logistics and funds needed to ensure the team’s partici

The FCT Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board on Wednesday said it would soon commence the orientation for the 2016 intending pilgrims. The Public Relations Officer of the board, Malam Muhammad Aliyu, made this known in a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja. According to Aliyu, the orientation exercise will take place at the Permanent FCT Hajj Camp located at Basan Jiwa close to the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja. The spokesman said that Islamic scholars had been fully mobilised to educate intending pilgrims on Hajj rites and the Saudi Arabian rules and regulations. He explained that the exercise would be conducted in four phases to enable the intending pilgrims get enlightened on the Hajj rites and new policies introduced by the Saudi authorities and NAHCON. Aliyu, therefore, advised intending pilgrims from the territory for this year’s Hajj to participate in the four exercises, scheduled to commence on Wednesday. He added that the first phase of the orientation was for in

The Nigerian Army said 25 bodies of Boko Haram terrorists had been recovered after Troops of 119 Task Force Battalion stationed in Kangarwa northern Born repelled an attack on Tuesday night. This is contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by acting Army Spokesman, Col. Sani Usman. According to the statement, the attack which started at about 6:30 p.m. was successfully repelled after about three hours of exchange of heavy gunfire that inflicted tremendous casualty on the terrorists. It stated that one gallant soldier paid the supreme price, while 11 others were wounded in action and one of the unit’s Gun truck was badly damaged. “As at this morning, the troops counted 25 bodies of the Boko Haram terrorists and recovered 2 Rocket Propelled Grenades 7 (RPG 7) tubes, a 60mm Mortar tube, 2 Machine Guns, 12 AK-47 rifles and one Light Machine Gun. “The body of the gallant soldier and those wounded in action are being evacuated, while the unit is carrying out a mop-up operation,” it

Gov. Ayodele Fayose with the amputee while on a sympathy visit to the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti. Yesterday, Ayodele Fayose, Ekiti State Governor, declared a three-day statewide prayer for the repose of the souls of the six students of the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, who died on Monday night in an auto accident. The accident which occurred around 7.30 pm in front of the main gate of the institution when a Lexus car rammed into a commercial minibus plying the institution. The governor, who made the declaration during a sympathy visit to the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, said that the prayer was also meant to prevent a recurrence of such terrible incidences. The PUNCH reports that findings according to one of its correspondents who visited the hospital on Tuesday revealed that the right leg of one of the two survivors had been amputated. An inside hospital source said, “The accident badly affected his right leg and he lost so

Governor Yahaya Bello The Niger Government has described as unfortunate the strike embarked by the civil servants, saying that the action is inimical to the development of the state. Gov. Sani Bello said this at the state executive council meeting in Minna on Tuesday. Bello said that the salary ratio was reached after wide consultations with all stakeholders in the state. According to him, the action by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is rigid because the state government has decided to pay workers 90 percent salary in July as against the 70 per cent paid in June. Bello said that he met earlier with officials of NLC to forestall the strike but the union refused to accept government proposal. “I had a meeting with labour and I gave details of our incomes, the on-going developmental projects and why we have to sacrifice today for the future of our children, who are leaders tomorrow. “But from the action the workers exhibited, it is clear that they are only interested in their