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(Nigeria) The Shell Petroleum Development Company says its use of vacuum trucks to convey crude from oil fields in the Ikarama community of Bayelsa is a measure to clean-up an earlier spill incident. A Shell spokesman, Mr Joseph Obari, stated this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria on Friday in Yenagoa. He said the use of trucks to lift crude from Ikarama manifold was part of a clean-up process, and described as untrue allegations by members of the community that the company had abandoned the use of its vandalised pipelines. He said there was no alternative to the use of pipelines to lift crude from oil facilities in Ikarama, adding that pipelines remain the best option in every sense. ``On January 27, there was an act of sabotage on the Ikarama manifold, resulting in the spill of about 302 barrels of crude oil into Shell Right-of-Way and beyond. ``Some 0.74 hectare of the environment was affected by the spill, but almost all of the spilled oil was recovered. ``Oil reco

(Nigeria) The Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, has arrested 2 Britons and 12 Nigerian technicians over their alleged involvement in illegal bunkering at the Chanomi Creek in the western delta. It was gathered that the suspects offered the operatives of the JTF  the sum of $66,500,  to allow them to siphon crude oil into their barges from a Shell Petroleum Development Company pipeline along the Chanomi creek in Delta State, but same was said to have been rejected. The two Britons are Piers Eastwood and Vincent Haywood attached to a United Kingdom based maritime security firm with regional branch in Lagos, according to the JTF, were to provide security/consultancy to MT Crete, a vessel believed to have positioned at Brass open waters for supposed illegal bunkering. Speaking in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, where the suspects were paraded, the commander of the outfit, Major General Emmanuel Atewe who was represented by the Coordinator, JMCC, Col Onyema  Nwachukwu, aid two Briton

(Nigeria) Chairman of National Conference, Justice Idris Kutigi, has expressed shock over the death of the confab’s member, retired AIG Hamma Misau. This is contained in a statement by Assistant Secretary of the conference, Mr Akpandem James in Abuja on Friday. It said Kutigi expressed shock and disbelief as he announced news of the death of Misau on Thursday. 'While sympathising with the family and the entire nation, Kutigi, however, said it was gratifying to note that Misau died in the service of his country. ``He prayed to Allah to grant his soul eternal rest.’’ Misau was a delegate to the conference on the platform of Association of Retired Police Officers of Nigeria, ARPON. James announced that the plenary session of the conference would resume on Monday, March 31. He added that the Vote of Proceedings of March 24, 25 and 26 would be adopted by the conference for deliberation. ``Top on the list of issues would be a report of the outcome of the consultative meeting betw

(Nigeria) The police command in Delta has commenced investigations into the death of two lawyers inside a vehicle at Ozoro, near Warri, Delta State. The Public Relations Officer of the command, Mr Celestina Kalu, told reporters in Warri on Friday that it was too early to determine the cause of the death. ''Investigation is still on because they were found dead inside a vehicle.'' Kalu said the bodies had been deposited in a hospital in Warri, adding that autopsy would be conducted to ascertain the cause of death. A reliable source told newsmen that the lawyers, Horis Dafiaghor and Samuel Ekuwangju, were found dead inside a vehicle. The source alleged that the deceased were on their way to court for a high profile case when they were waylaid and killed by hired assassins. It said that the deceased were both of Whytfort Jurisconsult Chambers of at No 81 Udu Road, Ovwian in the Udu Local Government Area of Delta. However, the Warri Chapter of the Nigerian Bar Associ

(Nigeria) A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday struck out a suit filed by 79 lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to the All Progressives Congress, APC. The plaintiffs, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, 78 Senators and Reps members, had prayed the court for an order restraining the defendants from declaring their seats vacant following their defection. Joined as co-defendants in the suit, filed in September 2013, are the PDP National Chairman, Senate President, House of Reps Speaker, the PDP and Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Delivering judgment, Justice Ahmed Mohammed held that the suit was an `academic exercise’ which the court would not adjudicate upon. He said that the PDP, being the fourth defendant in the instant case, had similarly filed another suit before him asking the court to declare the seats of the defected legislators vacant. ``In the final analysis, the lawmakers’ suit is based on the threat of declaring their seats vacant, and the

Russian government on Friday in Moscow expressed displeasure that Kiev and its foreign sponsors support the United Nation s resolution on Ukraine's territorial integrity. The Russian Foreign Ministry was referring to the UN General Assembly's recent vote on the resolution, which does not recognise Crimea's absorption by Russia. The Russian ministry said a potential cold war era propagandist machine was used to mask the deepest political crisis in Ukraine and to blame Russia for rising tension in Ukraine. ``The wide difference among the positions of the UN members, big number of those abstained or absent from voting, is an eloquent evidence that one-sided interpretation of events in Ukraine has not been accepted," it said. It added that it was unfortunate that pressure, political blackmail and economic threats were used to coerce UN members to support the resolution. It described the resolution as counterproductive, adding that the move would complicate the settlem

(Nigeria) Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, said on Friday that the 2014 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, will also be conducted in seven countries abroad. Ojerinde stated this on Friday while fielding questions from newsmen at the University of Ilorin. He said the examination, scheduled for April, would also take place in Accra (Ghana), Johannesburg (South Africa), Cameroun, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia),  Ivory Coast, London (UK) and Cotonou (Benin Republic). He said JAMB was prepared to conduct a smooth and hitch-free examination in all accredited centres in the country. He said about 160 examination centres were accredited to conduct the electronic-based examination, pointing out that the number of centres was increased this year. ``Last year, the board had only fifty-five centres,” he said. The Registrar said about 300 examination centres applied, adding that only 160 were accredited because they met with the Board’s req