Global Naija Info

Jollof rice The Tin-Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted a 20ft container of “READY TO EAT FOODS’’ like Egusi Soup, Jollof Rice, Ogbono, Yam Porridge imported from India. The Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Bashar Yusuf, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday in Lagos by the Public Relations Officer of the Command, Mr Uche Ejesieme. Yusuf spoke with stakeholders at the SDV/SCOA Terminal while handing over the container of imported prepared foods to officials of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The controller described the scenario as an “aberration”, considering the fact that government granted zero duty for the importation of machinery for the packaging of agricultural products. “Why should indigenous menu be imported into the country at a time when investors are much sought after to boost local industries,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes Yusuf as saying. The c...

Gov-Nyesom-Wike The Rivers State Government has declared a three-day fasting to seek God’s intervention for peace and order in the state, ahead of the Dec. 10 rerun elections Mr Austin Tam-George, the state Commission for Information, stated this in a statement he issued on Monday in Port Harcourt. According to the commissioner, the fasting will span between Wednesday, Dec. 7 and Friday, Dec. 9. He said that Governor Nyesom Wike pleaded with residents and churches in the state to actively participate in the spiritual exercise. “The fasting will involve churches and residents of the state; the essence is to seek God’s divine intervention in the election. “We know that when we seek the face of God, He will cause our state to have a peaceful rerun election and no principality or power can stand Him.’’ He enjoined Rivers people to engage in acts capable of promoting peace during the election. The Independent Electoral Commission fixed December 10 for rerun elections into national ...

Patrick Akpobolokemi and five others are tried for N2.3bn fraud A star witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Adamu Usman Yusuf, Monday told a Federal High Court in Lagos southwest Nigeria how about N4.9 billion was converted into United States dollars by a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Patrick Akpobolokemi and other accused charged with money laundering. Akpobolokemi is standing trial alongside a former Commander of the Military Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield in the Niger Delta, Major General Emmanuel Atewe, Kime Engozu and Josephine Otuaga over N13 billion fraud. Adamu Usman while been led in evidence by EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, told the court that during investigation, it was discovered that the money was handed over to the 3rd and 4th accused (Engozu and Otuaga). Adamu told the trial judge, Saliu Saidu that “at the end of our investigation, we discovered that about N4.9 ...

Sepp Blatter,ex- FIFA president Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has lost his appeal against a six-year ban for ethics violations, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Monday. The ban was imposed amid the biggest corruption scandal to shake the world football body, CAS ruled that Blatter had authorised payments to Michel Platini, then the European football body’s president, worth over $2 million which amounted to “undue gifts’’. It said this had therefore violated FIFA’s code of ethics. Blatter, who led FIFA for 17 years, told Reuters in a telephone interview that he was “disappointed but not shattered’’. He resigned in June 2015 after several dozen football officials, including FIFA executive committee members and former members, had been indicted in the U.S. on graft charges. They were indicted along with two sports marketing firms. The 80-year-old Swiss was not among those indicted, but became embroiled in scandal when he was banned from all football-related a...

Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali The Federal Government has banned the importation of vehicles into the country through land borders. In a statement on Monday in Abuja, Mr Wale Adeniyi, the Nigeria Customs Service Public Relations Officer, stated that “the prohibition order covers all new and used vehicles”. Adeniyi also said the ban was sequel to a presidential directive restricting all vehicle imports to Nigeria’s Sea ports only, adding that the order takes effect from Jan. 1, 2017. “The restriction on importation of vehicles follows that of rice; import of rice through land borders has been banned since April 2016. “Importers of vehicles through the land borders are requested to utilise the grace period until Dec. 31, 2016 to clear their vehicle imports landed in neighbouring Ports,” Adeniyi said.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (left), being presented with the Best Security and Safety Conscious award given to the State Government in South Africa by Commander, RRS, ACP Tunji Disu (right) while Permanent Secretary, Office of Chief of Staff, Mr. Abiodun Bamgboye (middle), watches during the handing over of 3 Patrol Vehicles and 45 Power Bikes to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) at the Lagos House, Ikeja, on Monday. Kazeem Ugbodaga Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday announced an increment to the death insurance benefit for police officers who die in active service to the State to N10 million, saying that his administration would stop at nothing to ensure the safety of all citizens in the State. Ambode, who spoke at Lagos House in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria after he was presented with two awards recently won in South Africa by the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the State Police Command, said security and safety of the people remained one of the foc...

Prof. Wole Soyinka Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka on Monday disclosed that he never applied for an American Green Card and that it was former United States President, Jimmy Carter who got it for him. Soyinka, at a press conference at the Freedom Park, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria also took a swipe at Nigerians who criticised him and wanted to know if he would abide by his comment to dump his green card if Donald Trump should win. An unhappy Soyinka said his decision to dump the green card if Trump should win was personal and was no business of any Nigerian, decrying that unwarranted comments and insults against his personality on social media by bloggers and the rest was uncalled for because they were not the ones who got the green card for him. “Let us look at the phenomenon of this green card, I called it Jimmy Carter’s card. Jimmy Carter got it for me,” he said. Soyinka said it was when he was a lecturer at Emory University in the United States during the Abacha era that he go...

court-of-law A banker, Obinna Ezenwaka, who allegedly defrauded a businessman to the tune of 93, 000 US dollars, was on Monday docked before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court in Lagos. Ezenwaka, whose address was not given, is standing trial on a five-count charge of conspiracy, stealing, fraud, forgery and issuing of dud cheque. The prosecutor, Sgt. Cyracus Osuji, told the court that the accused committed the alleged offences on Aug. 1, in Lagos. He said that the accused conspired with one, still at large and obtained the sum of 93, 000 US dollars from one Mr Dominic Nwibo, under the guise of transferring the said money to Nwibo’s business partners and suppliers in China. Osuji said that the accused knew that the representation he made to Nwibo was false. According to the prosecutor, the accused forged a telex message which was to show that a transfer of the said 93, 000 US dollars was made to China, “just to convince the complainant, when no actual transfer was made”. He also sa...

Istifanus Bello Gurama, a senior strategist with Dangote Industries Limited, who was reportedly kidnapped three weeks ago, has been murdered. Reliable sources say Gurama’s body was found in the gutter, adding that one of the kidnappers must have alerted a member of the public to where the body was. Gurama was believed to have been kidnapped three weeks ago but news of his murder got to his family members today (Monday). Sources close to him told our correspondent that as a senior strategist, Gurama was in charge of negotiations and handing ransom payment to kidnappers whenever any of the expatriates in Dangote Industries was kidnapped. Punch reports that on the day Gurama was allegedly kidnapped, he was said to have gone, as usual, to negotiate and pay ransom money for the release of one of the expatriates. However, on getting there, the kidnappers reportedly said he was the one they were after and he was subsequently detained. A close friend who refused to be named said Gurama sh...

Prof Wole Soyinka[/captionRevered playwright and Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, says he will hold a private funeral on January 20 when United States President-elect, Donald Trump, is inaugurated as President. Soyinka, who spoke in Lagos on Monday, explained that the funeral is not to mourn with the citizens of the US over their choice of president but to mourn the death of Nigeria’s common sense. “Our common sense is totally lost. I am embarrassed sometimes that I occupy the same nation space with some people,” he said. He also said Nigerians did not have the right to query his personal decision to tear his US green card. More later. Punch TAGS Soyinka Trump SHARE     Previous article Widow throws epileptic son’s corpse into cesspit RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Latest News China downplays Trump’s Twitter outburst Latest News Nigerians in US worried about Trump presidency – NAF Latest News ‘Clever’ Trump will soon understand weighty role – Putin Lates...

Lagos State University The Lagos State University (LASU) had approved the appointment of Dr Oluwaseun Bello as the Acting Head, Department of English, Faculty of Arts. It also approved that of Dr Okubena Dipeolu as the Acting Head, Department of Agriculture in the School of Agriculture.‎ This is contained in the university’s official bulletin obtained on Monday in Lagos. ‎ It said the appointments were approved by the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun. ‎ ‎It said Dr Bello’s appointment would be for a period of two years, with effect from Nov. 17, 2016 to Nov. 16, 2018 as well as for Dipeolu whose appointment took effect on Nov. 21, 2016.‎ ‎ The bulletin stated that the V-C had congratulated them on these appointments.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in Abuja met with the Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, behind closed doors. It was reliably gathered that the visiting Liberian president would brief President Buhari on sub-regional security challenges ahead of the 3rd Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa slated for Dec. 5 and Dec. 6. President Buhari is expected to leave Abuja later today for the forum in Dakar, Senegal. Sirleaf, who is the current Chairperson of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), is expected to brief President Buhari on efforts made to curb terrorism in the sub-region. The two leaders may also discuss other issues bordering on sub-regional integration and bilateral trade. The Liberian President, who arrived Abuja on Sunday on a two-day official visit to Nigeria, visited the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja on the same day The ECOWAS ch...

Justice Adeniyi Ademola The arraignment of Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja and his wife, Olabowale, who is the Head of Service of Lagos State, could not go on as scheduled on Monday due to their absence. They were scheduled to be arraigned on Monday before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama, on charges of receiving gratification, but the arraignment could not proceed because they had travelled to Lagos. The defendants, the court was told, were absent because they had not been served with the charges. The trial judge, Justice Jude Okeke, adjourned the matter till December 13, 2016, after the defendants’ lawyer, Mr. Jeph Njikonye, volunteered to accept service on behalf of his clients. The Punch reports that the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Segun Jegede, had told the trial judge that court bail bailiffs attempted to serve the couple with the charges but they were said to have travelled to Lagos. He said he was going to ask the court ...

Eleven people are dead after a fire swept through a hotel in the southern Pakistani city. A huge fire engulfed several floors at a multi-storey hotel in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Monday, killing 11 people and wounding dozens of others, officials and rescue personnel said. “Most deaths at the Regent Plaza Hotel in downtown Karachi occurred due to suffocation after the fire broke out early in the morning when guests were asleep, the city’s mayor,” Wasim Ahmed, said. Ahmed said four women were among the dead while players from a regional cricket team jumped out of windows, some of whom suffered fractured limbs. Doctor Seemi Jamali said no fewer than 65 people including foreign nationals were being treated at the city’s Jinnah Hospital. Police official Nadeem Khan said an initial probe suggested an electric short-circuit might have caused the fire but an investigation was underway. Faisal Edhi, head of the Edhi Rescue Services, said that all the guests trapped on th...

FILE PHOTO: Rice farm in Nigeria. Rice farmers have assured Nigerians of their readiness to make the price of rice affordable and accessible by 2017. Mr. Aminu Goronyo, the National President, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), gave the assurance in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday. He said the association had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with some farm input suppliers in the country to ensure prompt supply of cheap fertilizers and pesticides to boost production. Goronyo said some individuals and corporate bodies caused the current scarcity and hike in the price of rice in order to sabotage government efforts in agricultural diversification. “We are going to assist the FG to produce more than enough rice for this country in 2017. “It is part of the plan that we must bring down the price of rice in this country “There are several efforts that we are making to see that in no distant time, this price of rice wi...

Authorities in Ghana have busted a fake U.S. embassy in the capital Accra, run by a criminal network that had issued visas illegally for one decade, the U.S. State Department said in a statement. The statement noted that until its shutdown this summer, the sham embassy was housed in a run-down, pink two-storey building with a corrugated iron roof and flew a U.S. flag outside it. It hung the portrait of U.S. President, Barack Obama, inside it. The U.S. statement added that “it was not operated by the United States Government, but by figures from both Ghanaian and Turkish organized crime rings and a Ghanaian attorney practicing immigration and criminal law.” Turkish citizens who spoke English and Dutch posed as consular officers and staffed the operation. Investigations also uncovered a fake Dutch embassy, the State Department said. Officials in the Netherlands were not immediately reachable for comment on Sunday. The crime ring issued fraudulently obtained but legitimate U.S. vi...

Firefighters work inside the burned warehouse following the fatal fire. The death toll from a fire that tore through a warehouse hosting a late-night dance party climbed to 33 on Sunday as firefighters painstakingly combed through rubble for others believed to still be missing and made the grim announcement that teenagers were among the dead. The building that went up in flames was known as the “Ghost Ship,” had been carved into artist studios and was an illegal home for a rotating cast of a dozen or more people, according to former denizens who said it was a cluttered death trap with few exits, piles of wood and a mess of snaking electric cords. The grisly search for bodies in the charred remains of the California warehouse have entered its third day on Monday, with relatives of the missing being asked to provide DNA samples to speed up identification. Only half of the burned-out building has so far been examined, with the confirmed death toll at 33, and officials admitted Sunda...

Italian Prime Minister, Renzi Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has resigned after suffering a heavy defeat in a referendum over his plan to reform the constitution. In a late-night news conference, he said he took responsibility for the outcome. He said the no camp must now make clear proposals. An exit poll for state broadcaster RAI suggests 42-46% voted to back reform, compared with 54-58% voting No. The first projections based on the official count point to a wider defeat. Early indications have the Yes vote at 39-43% and the No at 57-61%. “Good luck to us all,” Mr Renzi told reporters. He said he would tell a Cabinet meeting on Monday afternoon that he is resigning, and then tender his resignation to the Italian president after two-and-a-half years in office. Mr Renzi said the reforms would have cut Italy’s bureaucracy and made the country more competitive. The vote asked about plans to streamline parliament but it was widely seen as a chance to register discontent with...