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(Nigeria) The Commissioner for Police in Edo, Mr Foluso Adebanjo, on Tuesday confirmed the alleged abduction and escape of the Vice-Chairman of Uhunmwonde Local Government Area of the state, Mr Walter Aiwekhoa, from his abductors.  Adebanjo, who confirmed the story to newsmen in Benin, said he was holding consultations on the matter with some divisional police officers. The Vice-Chairman’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Osaro Idahosa, had earlier said that his boss was abducted on Tuesday by unknown gunmen at Ogan, near Abudu, on his way to Ehor, the administrative headquarters of Uhunmwonde Local Government Area. Idahosa said that the vice-chairman, who escaped from his abductors, reported the matter at Obiaruku Police Station in Delta. He said that his boss escaped from his captors at Obiaruku in Delta from the forest where he was kept.  “We are celebrating here because he just called from Obiaruku in Delta State that he is presently at the police station. ``He said he esca

(Nigeria) Gunmen on Monday night killed two policemen and injured two others when they attacked the Nigeria Police Divisional Headquarters in Kajuru Local Government Area in Kaduna State. The Commissioner of Police, Mr Olufemi Adenaike, disclosed this on Tuesday when he led Governor Muktar Yero round the scene of the incident. He said that the gunmen attacked the police headquarters around 11 p.m. from three different directions. He said that only a few officers were on duty at the station at time of the attack as majority of them were on routine patrol. Adenaike said that two police men were killed during the attack, while two police women were injured and were responding to treatment at  St Gerald’s Catholic Hospital in Kaduna. He said that though the police had commenced investigation into the attack, they were yet to figure out the reason for the attack. Speaking when he visited the victims at the hospital, Gov. Yero, promised that government would not only pay their

(Nigeria) The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education in Delta State, Prof. Patrick Muoboghare, has threatened to prosecute parents who allow their children roam the streets during school hours. The commissioner issued the threat in Asaba on Tuesday while presenting the mid-term report of his ministry. He said that the government had decided to make primary and secondary school education free and compulsory for all children of school age in the state. He warned that any parent, who allowed his or her child to roam the street during school hours from September would be prosecuted. ``Education is compulsory and no child in the state will be allowed to be stranded,” he said. To realise this objective, Muoboghare said the ministry had established a special marshall to monitor and arrest any child found roaming the street during school hours. He advised parents and stakeholders to support the government to realise its dream to educate children. The commissioner said t

(Nigeria) A 43-year-old final year Law student of the Lagos State University,  Bruno Ehidiamen, on Tuesday appeared before an Ikeja Chief Magistrate Court, Lagos  over alleged examination malpractice. The police arraigned Ehidiamen along with 35-year-old David Onuche, who allegedly falsely presented himself as Ehidiamen and assisted him to sit for the university’s final year examination. The accused, both male, resides in Ikeja. They are standing trial on a four-count charge of conspiracy, forgery, cheating in examination and impersonation. The prosecutor, Asp. Barth Nwaokoye, said that the accused conspired with each other to commit the offences at 4p.m. on August 15 at Agidingbin, Ikeja. He said that the offences contravened Sections 322(2), 363, 378(2) and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty. The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Eniola Fabamwo, granted each of them bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum. She a

(Nigeria) A Zamfara Magistrates' Court on Tuesday ordered 38-year-old Nasiru Lawal of Birnin Ruwa area of Gusau  remanded in prison for alleged possession of fake currency. The prosecutor, Sgt. Daniel Longwal, told the court that on July 21, Saratu Nura and Rukkaya Salisu, both of Ungwar Gwaza area, Gusau, reported the case at Tudun Wada police station, Gusau. Longwal said on July 7, the accused bought 22 bottles of groundnut oil, worth N4, 650 and deceitfully gave the complainants a N1, 000 note suspected to be fake. The prosecutor added that when the police searched the accused, nine other N1, 000 notes suspected to be fake were found on him. He said the offence contravened section 439 of the Penal Code, but the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge. The magistrate, Malam Musa Usman, ordered that the accused be remanded in prison and adjourned the case to September 2.

Clash between militants and Afghan security forces left 18 Taliban fighters and two police dead in Zana Khan district of Ghazni province on Tuesday, a local official said, reports Xinhua. "Scores of armed Taliban rebels stormed the headquarters of Zana Khan district in the wee hours of Tuesday with the objective to capture it. However, the police resisted with the support of army, killing 18 rebels and forcing the Taliban to flee," Zana Khan district governor Ahmad Zia Yaqubi told Xinhua. In the conflict which lasted until 7:00 a.m. local time, two police were killed and two others sustained injuries, he said. Taliban militants who are active in parts of Ghazni province 125 km south of Kabul have yet to make comment. 

Tensions in Egypt have escalated with the reported arrest of the Muslim Brotherhood's top leader, Mohamed Badie, by police here early Tuesday, reports Xinhua. Badie, the MB's Supreme Guide, was arrested in an apartment in Tayran Street in the northeastern Nasr City district, according to official news agency MENA. The street is behind Rabaa al-Adawiya Square, one of the two sites where hundreds of supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi were killed last Wednesday when police cleared their protest camps. The arrest came only three days after his son was killed during violent clashes between protestors and security forces. Two leading MB members, Youssef Talaat and Hassan Maleik, were arrested with Badie. On Monday, suspected militants ambushed two busloads of off-duty security forces in Egypt's northern Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 25 and injuring three others. The assailants, armed with rocket-propelled grenades, forced the two mini-buses to stop

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan on Tuesday formally charge-sheeted former military President Pervez Musharraf in the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, lawyers said, reports Xinhua. Musharraf, who was president during the murder of Benazir Bhutto, rejected the charges and termed them as politically- motivated. The former president was produced in the court under tight security. Benazir was assassinated in a suicide attack and gun shots outside in Rawalpindi on Dec. 27, 2007, after she addressed an election campaign rally. The ATC judge, Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman, also indicted six others accused in the case including two former police officers. The Federal Investigative Agency, FIA, investigating the murder, had submitted a charge-sheet against him in the ATC in the garrison city of Rawalpindi near Islamabad. The FIA presented a four-point charge-sheet against Musharraf in the ATC, accusing him for hatching a conspiracy, in connecti

(Nigeria)  The National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, has commenced investigations into an oil leak reported in Chevron Nigeria Limited offshore platform located off Bayelsa coastline. Mr Adeyinka Adewumi, Head of NOSDRA’s Zonal office in Port Harcourt, told News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday that the oil spill agency had commenced investigations into the incident. According to him, NOSDRA is deploying its officials to probe the leak along with representatives of Chevron and members of the oil firm’s host communities in Koluama, Southern Ijaw council area of Bayelsa. “Chevron reported a leak in their field and our officers visited the site along with community representatives and officials of the company and other agencies in the sector to investigate the incident. “The report of the visits will shed more light into the leak and what caused it,” he said. Mr Sale-Epri Matthew, a representative of Keffes Rural Development Foundati

(Nigeria) A 20-year-old, Samuel Emmanuel, who stole a Blackberry mobile phone valued at N21,000, was on Tuesday in Lagos sentenced to three months community service. An Oshodi Magistrate Court, Lagos State which handed down the judgment said the court had no option than to sentence Emmanuel since he had pleaded guilty of the offence. The Magistrate, Mr Akeem Fashola, ruled:``You (Emmanuel) are hereby  sentenced to three months community service without an option of fine since you have pleaded guilty to the charge.’’ Fashola said the accused should serve the punishment within Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area. Emmanuel, who resides at No. 26, Bello St., Sogunle, Lagos, is facing a charge of stealing. Earlier, the Prosecutor, Cpl. Kehinde Olatunde, had told the court that the accused committed the offence on August 9 at Odalume Street, Sogunle. According to him, the accused stole the phone belonging to Dolapo Audu, where he was charging it. ``Audu was charging his phone

British authorities demand The Guardian newspaper wipes all its hard drives installed on computers belonging to editorial staff, claiming they may contain information made available by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, reports Itar-Tass. Local media reported that should the newspaper refuse to follow orders, it may be criminally prosecuted. Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger was previously ordered by British officials to either delete all data provided by Snowden or hand it over to the authorities. Rusbridger initially refused to give in and declared that he found these orders absurd, promising to stand his ground. It was later reported that the newspaper complied and destroyed hardware with allegedly illegal information. Alan Rusbringer wrote on The Guardian’s website: “ And so one of the more bizarre moments in the Guardian's long history occurred – with two GCHQ security experts overseeing the destruction of hard drives in the Guardian's basement just to ma

Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel in orchestrating ovethrow of President Mohammed Morsi. The official has made this statement during a meeting with regional heads of the ruling Justice and Development party, reports Itar-Tass. “Israel is behind the Egyptian coup, and we have evidence. Ahead of the 2011 elections one representatives of the French intelligentsia, a Jew himself, said so. He announced that even if the Muslim Brotherhood won the elections, they would not be winners, because democracy is not elections,” Erdogan said, without providing further comments on the matter. Turkish prime minister addressed Western nations with an advice to “study and learn what democracy means.” If western states fail to do so, the official suggested that conflicts and clashes will spread throughout the globe. Erdogan also addressed the fact that a portion of Turkish citizens calls him a dicrator. “You want to see a dictator – go to Egypt,” he said. The prim

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood (MB) appointed Mahmoud Ezzat as temporary new leader on Tuesday, after its General Guide Mohamed Badie was arrested, official MENA news agency reported. In a statement published on the MB's Freedom and Justice party website, Ezzat, the deputy of the former general guide, was announced as the new chief according to the group's internal regulations Article Four. "In the absence of the general guide either for travelling abroad, or for being sick or in emergency cases, his deputy is entitled with his responsibilities," according to the article. Mohamed Badie was arrested by police in Cairo in the early hours of Tuesday, and transferred to Mazraah prison in Torah prisons' complex, where former President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons are detained. 

(Nigeria) The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, on Monday in Abuja enjoined Nigerians to be dedicated to duty at all times so that they could be positively remembered. Maku made the call at the service of songs at Radio House Chapel, Abuja in honour of Adolphus Okonkwo, former Financial Secretary of Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ. Okonkwo, who died along with two other members of NUJ in a motor accident on August 2 on Ilesa- Ife Expressway while travelling to Lagos from Abuja, worked with Voice of Nigeria, VON. Maku, who was represented by the Director, Federal Government Press, Mr Olufela Oshunliyi, stressed the need for dedication to duty. The Director General of VON, Mallam Abubakar Jijiwa, represented by Mr Geoffrey Okeke, extolled the virtues of Okonkwo and assured the gathering that VON would ensure that succour came the way of the families left behind. Earlier, Okonkwo’s former colleagues said that he was committed to duty and welfare of the members

(Nigeria) The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, has ordered the redeployment of 14 Commissioners of Police to commands and various formations. This is contained in a statement in Abuja on Monday by Mr Frank Mba, Deputy Force Public Relations Officer. Four of the commissioners are in charge state commands. They are Lawal Tanko, (Borno); Ibrahim Ahmed, (Zamfara); Hilary Okpara, (Bayelsa), and Maigari Dikko, (Ebonyi). Others are Adebayo Ajileye, Inspectorate; `E' Depatment Force Headquarters, Adeola Adeniji; Border Patrol, Waheed Salau; Airport, Markus Danladi; Commandant, Police College, Maiduguri and Tonye Ebitibituwa, Training, 'E' Department, Force Headquarters. Also affected are Hyacinth Dagala, Deputy Commandant, Police Academy, Kano; Lawal Shehu, Administration 'E' Department Force Headquarters; Ibrahim Adamu, Deputy Force Secretary; Abdul Danwawu, Armament and Salisu Abdullai, X Squad. The statement urged the affected commission

(Nigeria) Abia State Government said on Monday that Governor Theodore Orji had submitted a list of 23 commissioner-nominees, including four women, to the state House of Assembly for screening. A statement in Umuahia by the Secretary to the government, Prof. Agu Mkpa, said the nominees would be invited for screening by the house. Dr Kenneth Nwosu, former Executive Director, National Root Crop Research Institute, Umudike, near Umuahia, is among the nominees. Nine former commissioners, including Chief Eze Chikamnayo, the immediate past Commissioner for Information and Strategy, also made the list. The governor dissolved the former State Executive Council on May 15. 

(Nigeria) The attention of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has been drawn to reports carried in some sections of the media alleging that top officials of the Rivers State Government, including the Deputy Governor, Mr Tele Ikuru, who came to receive the First Lady, were shielded from Dame Patience Jonathan on her arrival at Port Harcourt International Airport, Sunday. The First Lady in a statement by her Director of Information, Mrs Ayo Adesugba, Monday, said “ Some of the media reports went to the extent of alleging that Dame Jonathan “snubbed” the Deputy Governor. “It is important to set the record straight in order to prevent the public from being misled. The First Lady arrived in Rivers State yesterday for a private visit, to make arrangements for the burial of her late mother with members of her extended family.  “Customarily, the wife of the state governor receives the First Lady, whenever she visits any state. That is why the wife of Bayelsa State governor travel

(Nigeria) Heavy rain being experienced since Sunday in Birnin Kebbi, Suru and Augie Local Government Areas in Kebbi State has resulted in the death of three persons. The downpour damaged 60 houses and rendered no fewer than 200 people homeless. Malam Yahaya Chindo, an Executive Director at the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, stated this in Birnin Kebbi on Monday during an interactive with newsmen. He said two people died in Mungadi, Maiyama local government area while 50 houses collapsed in Augie local government area. ``Our findings in Jega indicate that five houses collapsed and five villages were displaced by erosion. ``In Augie local government area 50 houses collapsed while four villages have been displaced by erosion,'' the executive director said. He said a building also collapsed at Anguwar Sarakuna in Birnin Kebbi Local Government Area, where one person died and seven others were injured. Chindo said the agency would assist the victims adding th

Iraqi authorities have executed 17 convicts, most of them condemned under the country's controversial terrorism law, Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari said on Monday. Those executed included an Egyptian citizen and two women, al-Shammari said. Iraq, which has faced near-daily car bombings and shootings by insurgents since U.S. troops withdrew in 2011, hanged 120 people last year, mainly for terrorism offences. Human rights groups have criticised Iraq's judicial processes and its terrorism law, which provides for the death penalty not only for those carrying out acts of terrorism, but also for anyone planning or enabling them. Repeal of that provision has been one of the key demands of Sunni protesters opposed to the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki

(Nigeria) Two female teachers and three children have been kidnapped in Benin, Edo State by gunmen. The kidnap of the victims is coming barely a week after three female teachers in Orogbua Primary School, Ekekhuan in Ovia North Local Government Area of the state were released after spending 14 days with their abductors. One of the teachers, was abducted from her car along with three of her children while driving to church on Sunday. It was gathered that the car was later recovered, Monday,  while the whereabouts of the teacher and her three children is still unknown.  The abductors are  yet to contact their families.  The second teacher was said to have been abducted while coming from the church.

(Nigeria) Nigeria's army said Monday that the leader of Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, may have died following a gunshot wound from a clash with soldiers. Intelligence reports "available to the (military) revealed that Abubakar Shekau, the most dreaded and wanted Boko Haram terrorists leader, may have died," a statement said. "It is greatly believed that Shekau might have died between 25 July to 3 August 2013." According to the statement, Shekau, declared a "global terrorist" by the US government, was shot on June 30 during a clash with troops at a Boko Haram camp in the Sambisa forest in northeastern Nigeria. It said he was then clandestinely taken over the border into Cameroon for treatment. The army statement was contradictory, first saying that Shekau "may have died" while at other points implying that he was indeed dead. It said he had been taken into the border community of Amitchide in Cameroon and

(Nigeria) The Central Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy on Monday confirmed the killing of 12 suspected pirates during a rescue operation of a hijacked oil vessel. It was learnt in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State that the vessel was recovered along the Forcados axis of the Delta waterways in the Niger Delta. The recovered vessel identified as MT Norte, was carrying 17,000 metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS and was hijacked by suspected pirates in the Gulf of Guinea in this month. The Flag Officer Commanding the command, Rear Adm. Sidi-Ali Hassan, said that the Navy alerted NNS Andoni and NNS Ikot Abasi on receiving the report of the hijacking. The navy said that six gun boats and NN vessels were deployed in the rescue operation. "Eight NN vessels were used in the pursuit of the hijacked MT Norte with 16 suspected pirates on board. ``The participating ships eventually shadowed the hijacked vessel and forced her back into Nigerian waters. "An agreed drop point w

(Nigeria) There was a mild drama on Monday at an Oshodi Magistrate Court, Lagos, when a motorcyclist, who had earlier pleaded guilty to the offence of theft, changed his plea on the verge of being sentenced. Raimi, 29, who resides at No. 11, Ikola St., Agbado-Ijaye, a Lagos suburb, was arraigned on Aug. 2 over alleged theft of a motorcycle. Raimi stunned the court when he entered a plea of not guilty. The Magistrate, Mr Akeem Fashola, had remanded the accused in Kirikiri Prisons after he pleaded guilty of the offence. Consequently, Fashola adjourned the case to Aug. 19 for facts and sentence. At the resumption of the case on Monday, Raimi told the court that his initial plea was made without an understanding of the enormity of his action. He was granted bail in the sum of N50, 000 with one surety in like sum. The case was adjourned to August 29 for trial. Earlier, the Prosecutor, Cpl. Kehinde Olatunde, had told the court that the accused committed the offence on July 22

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu & Soni Ajala As Nigeria prepared to finally cede control of the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula in August 2013, one of the principal actors in the protracted legal dispute over the territory passed on. Anthony Oye Cukwurah, a law professor who died on July 12, 2013 at the age of 79 was a distinguished university administrator, public servant, a pioneering African scholar of international law, and Africa’s foremost expert in the arcane area of the law of international boundaries. Long before the word became a title or conferment, Ben Wortley, the famous Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Manchester who supervised his Doctoral research described Oye Cukwurah in 1966 as a “distinguished” Nigerian. One of the co-counsel in the Bakassi case, Professor Cukwurah’s unique expertise was in the study of international boundaries. His book on The Settlement of Boundary Disputes in International Law was copiously relied on as authority by both sid

British authorities used anti-terrorism powers on Sunday to detain the partner of a journalist with close links to Edward Snowden, former United States spy agency contractor.granted asylum by Russia. The partner was detained as he passed through London's Heathrow airport. The 28-year-old David Miranda, a Brazilian citizen and partner of U.S. journalist Glenn Greenwald who writes for Britain's Guardian newspaper, was questioned for nine hours before being released without charge, a report on the Guardian Website said. A British Metropolitan Police Service spokesman said a 28-year-old male had been detained at Heathrow airport under provisions of the 2000 Terrorism Act. That law gives British border officials the right to question someone ``to determine if that individual is a person concerned in the commission, preparation or execution of acts of terrorism.’’ Snowden faces criminal charges in the U.S. after leaking documents disclosing previously secret U.

(Nigeria) Nigerian police have arrested two fake doctors accused of causing the deaths of "many" women during childbirth or surgery at a clinic they ran for three years, a spokeswoman said Monday. Authorities have closed the clinic in Nigeria's largest city, Lagos, after learning about it through a tip-off from local residents, police spokeswoman Ngozi Braide told AFP. "Two men who claimed to be doctors at the hospital, known as Cares hospital, in the Iba area of the city, were arrested last week. Their arrest followed a tip-off from residents about their illegal activities," she said. "Our investigations revealed that many women have died following the illegal and criminal activities of these men." Police declined to say how many women had died from their treatment, saying only that the investigation was continuing. Braide said the suspects, who were not qualified doctors, had been carrying out illegal operations and surgeries on pregnant

Hosni Mubarak may be released from prison during this week, according to a statement made by the ex-President’s attorney Farid ad-Dib, reports Itar-Tass. The lawyer said that the prosecutor dismissed one of the earlier brought charges in corruption. There’s one last charge left, but it is “just a juridical formality that will take not more than 48 hours to solve”, the attorney stressed. The fortune of Mubarak and members of his family turned out dozens of times lesser than it was claimed after the 2011 revolution. The total wealth of 85-year-old Mubarak, his wife Suzanne Thabet, their two sons Alaa and Gamal, as well as daughters-in-law Heidy Rasekh and Khadiga El Gammal is estimated at 9 billion Egyptian pounds (less than $1.3 billion). Meanwhile, ad-Dib added that 85-year-old Hosni Mubarak in the future would face alias trial on charges of implication in murder of protesters at mass actions that led to governmental overthrow in 2011. The results of the past trial, w

A total of 105 people died and another 115 are missing after floods ravaged northeast China and a typhoon lashed southern regions, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Monday, reports Xinhua. Northeastern China's Liaoning Province and south China's Guangdong Province have reported the most number of casualties from the disasters, with 54 deaths and 22 deaths respectively as of 9 a.m. Monday. Rain-triggered floods that started to hit northeast China on Wednesday also left 15 and three people dead in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces respectively, the ministry said, citing reports from local agencies. Ninety-seven and six people are missing respectively in Liaoning and Jilin. Typhoon Utor continued to wreak havoc in China's southern regions after making landfall Wednesday in Guangdong and has killed 22 people, with eight more missing in the province. Neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Hunan Province reported six and five deaths from the typhoon resp

The trial date of murder-accused paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been set for March 3, 2014, Prosecutor Gerrie Nel announced here on Monday, reports Xinhua. Nel made the announcement during Pistorius' brief appearance at the Pretoria Magistrate's Court. Nel also said the Pistorius's premeditated murder case has been transferred to the High Court in Pretoria. The prosecutor said his team has prepared an indictment to serve on Pistorius. When the indictment is served, the state is also expected to disclose the docket of evidence to allow the accused to prepare a defence. Pistorius was back in court Monday morning to hear murder charges against him. His court reappearance coincides with the 30th birthday of his girl friend Reeva Stamkemp whom he shot dead at his Pretoria home on the Valentine's Day of Feb. 14 this year. Amid a heavy police presense, Pistorius entered the court room packed with Pistorius family members and a strong media contingent. Last wee

Some 37 people, including several women and children, were killed and more than 40 others injured after being run over by a speeding train at a remote railway station in the eastern Indian state of Bihar Monday, a senior police official said, reports Xinhua. "The mishap happened when the victims, mainly Hindu pilgrims on way to a local fair, were crossing railway tracks at the remote Dhamara station, some 200 kms from state capital Patna. The superfast Rajyarani Express mowed them down, killing at least 37 people on the spot and injuring 40 others who have been admitted to a nearby hospital where some are said to be serious," he said. The death toll may rise later in the day, the official said, on condition of anonymity. Indian Railways officials said that the speeding train did not slow down at the station as it was not a scheduled stop for it. Moreover, the train, which plies between Saharsa and Patna, was on track number three which was a non-stop track, th

(Nigeria) The police on Monday in Abuja arraigned a 36-year-old herbalist,  Kole Kehinde, before an Abuja Magistrates’ Court sitting in Wuse Zone II  for allegedly cheated a patient of N120,000. Police prosecutor Nnamani Emmanuel alleged that the accused, who resides at No. 16, Danki Village, behind Sunny Vale, Abuja, committed the offence sometime in May 2010. He said Adedokun Adekunle of Jikwoyi Phase II, Abuja, reported the case at the Garki Divisional Police Station, Abuja. Emmaunel said the complainant alleged that the accused deceived him and collected N120,000 as payment for natural medicine to cure his haemorrhoids (pile). He said the accused collected the said amount and dishonestly converted the money to his personal use and relocated to an unknown location. Emmaunel said the offence contravened the provisions of section 322 of Penal code Law. If convicted, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or with bo

(Nigeria) The military Joint Task Force, JTF, operating in the three North-East states under state of emergency will, from Monday, hand over command to a new Army Division. President Goodluck Jonathan had declared state of emergency on May 14 in three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa following serious security challenges posed by the activities of Boko Haram. A statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by Brig-.Gen. Chris Olukolade, Director of Defence Information, said the command of the on-going internal security operations in the North East would enter a new phase as the control of the mission reverted to the Army Headquarters. He said a new Army Division had been created and would take-off to continue the counter-insurgency operation with immediate effect. ``Coming three months into the mission to stamp out terrorism in the North East, this development is in line with the plans laid out for the conduct of the operations. ``The phase being concluded on Monday was executed by a

Hundreds of thousands of people have been engaged in relief efforts in northeast China as the worst flooding in decades has killed at least 40 people since Friday, reports Xinhua. Liaoning Province on Sunday reported 15 deaths, bringing the death toll from the severe floods to 40 in the area. The deaths in the province were all recorded in Fushun City. Thirty-two others went missing after downpours drenched the city on Friday and Saturday, according to a press briefing from the municipal flood control and drought relief headquarters. Dams were damaged and businesses suspended operation in the city. Some 349 houses collapsed and 139,800 houses were damaged. A total of 4,000 people are in need of temporary shelters. Gao Fuyan, 53, a villager of Nanzamu Township in the Manchu Autonomous County of Xinbin, was one of them. "I had to spend the night on the roof yesterday. The rain was so heavy and I was so scared," Gao said. Two bags and a plastic bag contai

Thirty-six Islamist prisoners were killed in Egypt on Sunday during an attempted prison break, the official MENA news agency reported. "A security official has confirmed that 36 Muslim Brotherhood elements were killed during an attempt to escape," the agency reported.

(Nigeria) A retired High Court Judge in Kebbi State, Justice Zakari Gulma, 62, has taken to teaching in primary schools as his post-retirement hobby. Gulma, told News Agency of Nigeria in Argungu on Sunday that prior to joining the judiciary sector in 1980, he had served as a teacher for 10 years. He stated that his love for teaching in a village school was to enable him contribute in raising the standard of education, considering the dearth of teachers The former judge explained that for this reason, he decided to resume teaching at the Fadama and Argungu Emirate Model primary schools in 2012, after his retirement. He said his quest for knowledge propelled him to study law and become a Judge, serving for 19 years at the bench. "A knowledgeable,well trained,dedicated and responsible teacher, will be honoured even after his death," he stressed, adding that his decision to resume teaching while in retirement, had made him a fulfilled person. He called on the state governm

(Nigeria)  Nigeria’s First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, arrived Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Sunday and proceeded to her country home,   Okrika. It was gathered that Dame Jonathan on arriving Port Harcourt, was immediately flown to Okrika, where she is to attend to issues relating to the death of her mother, late Madam Charity Oba.

(Nigeria)A female reporter with Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, Aba, Abia State,  Linda Osuala, has been released by her abductors. Osuala, was kidnapped, Friday, at Nwaobasi Estate, Ogbor- Hill, Aba, the commercial city of Abia State. She was said to have been rescued following the operation of a team of police men from the Abia Area Command, led by Anari Anari, and the Divisional Police Officer in- charge of Anti- crime, which  raided some criminal to hide-outs in Mgboko Umuezi in Obingwa Local Government Area of the state. It was gathered that the victim was released by her abductors when the shootout with the Police became unbearable for them.

(Nigeria) Unknown to many people, the former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-kayode and former beauty queen, Mrs Bianca Onoh were heading for the altar in the late 80’s, but the wheels of their love life was clogged by a sudden event that eventually created a gulf between the two lovebirds. It was gathered that Bianca Odinaka Olivia Onoh, who is the sixth child of Late Chief Christian Chukwuma Onoh, the second republic governor of the of the old Anambra state, had met Femi Fani-kayode while she was studying for her A- levels in Cambridge Tutorial College. The former aviation minister was also attending the University of Cambridge for his Master’s Degree programme in law. Informed sources revealed that the statuesque beauty was already a queen before he met the hunky politico. The lively, charming and boisterous Bianca had won the MISS MARTINI, a beauty pageant organized by the beverage company known as Martini Rossi, while schooling at Yorkshire in England. Th

    By PROF CHIDI ODINKALU    (Nigeria) I should begin by transmitting heartfelt birthday greetings to Kongi – Professor Wole Soyinka - on his 79th birthday,  as well as thanks for all he has done for us as an activist, inspiration, teacher, citizen, humanist and ambassador. I look forward to attending this event 11 years from now when he will be around with us to mark his 90th birthday. Let me also thank the organisers, the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalist, WSCIP, for organising this event and bringing us all together on a Saturday. Professor Biodun Jeyifo has travelled a long way to give us, characteristically, a lot to think about. I propose to address two things in the remarks that follow: a little bit of responsibility, context, and consequence in the discussion of what to do with the FoI Act. I’ll speak as an ordinary citizen. Very often, in discussing governance in Nigeria, we focus on the failings – imagined as well as real – of the high and mighty