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Vice President Namadi Sambo has assured the Nigerian community in Tanzania that the Federal Government has  intensified efforts to check the activities of  the Boko Haram sect. A statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by Malam Umar Sani, the vice president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media,  said such efforts  had started yielding positive results. Sambo gave the assurance during an audience with members of the Nigerian community in Dar es Salam, Tanzania. The statement stated that Sambo noted with satisfaction the concerted efforts of the security agencies in the fight against the terror group in the North East zone of the country. The vice president, according to the statement, said government was particularly proud of the security agencies' commitment to ending insurgency in the country. He said the  Federal Government was  doing  everything possible, including cooperating with neighbouring countries, to check the insurgents. “I  want to seize this opportunity to i

(Nigeria) No fewer than 30 suspected oil thieves in Akwa Ibom are currently being prosecuted by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC. The State Commandant of the corps, Mr Pedro Ideba, disclosed this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Ikot Abasi. He said that the suspected oil thieves were all arrested at Ukpenekang Beach in Ibeno Local Government Area of the state between January and April. Ideba said that eight of the suspects were arrested by the navy, seven by the army  while  the corps  also arrested 15. ``The trial  of the suspects are at different stages and we know that the law will take its course. Our efforts have been yielding positive results and we started securing convictions, which I believe, will serve as a deterrent to others,’’ he said. He said that the command was determined the stop the vandalism of pipelines and electrical installations in the country. Ideba also said that the command was collaborating with other

(Nigeria) Former Military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida has said that he was not surprised by the rapid transformation in Edo State under Governor Adams Oshiomhole, adding that same was consistent with the governor’s antecedents. Also, former governor of Lagos State, and national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu said the Edo State governor had impacted positively on the development of the state beyond empty rhetoric. Speaking at Igueben, where he was Chairman of a ceremony to mark the 70th birthday of Chief Tom Ikimi, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Babangida said “I want to pay special homage to my governor, Adams Oshiomhole, who has been doing so much to transform Edo State. “As a regular visitor to Edo State, I could feel and inhale the impact of good governance not only on the faces of the people but also on infrastructure. I saw several red roof schools on my way here. I saw well cultivated lawns, walk-ways and beautiful r

Former Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was heckled on Sunday by angry pro-Moscow activists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk and barred from entering the rebel-held city hall. Khodorkovsky, who spent a decade in prison in Russia and now lives in self-imposed exile in Switzerland, is visiting eastern Ukraine to "see for himself what's happening there," his spokeswoman Olga Pispanen told AFP. Khodorkovsky wanted to speak to people in Donetsk city hall but was turned away by Russian-speaking activists who told him he was unwelcome, according to footage from regional television. "We saw you on television. How can we speak to you?" shouted one man outside the building, according to the footage broadcast on Russian state television. "You sold out your country, your homeland," another Russian speaker angrily told the 50-year-old former head of the Yukos oil empire. "That's what I wanted to talk about," Khodorkovsky resp

Pro-Russian militants in Ukraine Sunday presented a captured team of international observers as "prisoners of war," raising the stakes in the crisis as United States President Barack Obama warned Moscow against "provocation". The self-styled mayor of rebel-held Slavyansk, which has become the epicentre of the crisis, led eight European members of an OSCE military inspection mission before scores of local and foreign journalists in the town hall. With four armed rebels watching over him, a spokesman for the group, German officer Axel Schneider, said the team was in good health and stressed they were "OSCE officers with diplomatic status". "I cannot go home of my free will," he told reporters, adding that negotiations were under way to free them. The local rebel leader, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, earlier told reporters: "In our town, where a war situation is going on, any military personnel who don't have our permission are conside

An Egyptian court sentenced 42 supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi on Sunday to prison terms ranging from three to 15 years on violence-related charges, a judicial source said. The verdict was delivered by Said Youssef Sabry, the same judge in the southern city of Minya who last month sentenced to death 529 alleged Islamists in a verdict that triggered international outrage. Sunday's sentencing of 42 Morsi supporters come a day before Sabry is expected to issue a verdict on another batch of nearly 700 alleged Islamist defendants for the murder and attempted murder of several policemen last August. Since the army ousted Morsi last July, a government crackdown has killed more than 1,400 people, mostly supporters of the deposed president, and jailed about 15,000. At least 1,000 people have been sentenced since December, all in groups of 10 or more and in often speedy trials. Morsi himself and the entire top leadership of his Muslim Brotherhood are also facing se

( Nigeria ) The Nigerian Navy on Saturday pledged to investigate and prosecute any of its personnel involved in acts capable of tarnishing the image and reputation of the service. This is contained in a statement by Lt. Way Olabisi, Spokesman, Western Naval Command, Lagos. The statement promised to punish the naval personnel alleged to have shot at a tanker driver at Ibafo/Trinity area of Apapa in the early hours of Friday, if found guilty. "Nigerian Navy has a reputation of not covering offenders and this case will not be an exception, especially if the suspect is found to be Nigerian Navy personnel. "He will be made to face the full weight of the law as the Nigerian Navy is also more concerned because it was alleged that a naval officer carried out the act," the statement said. The statement said that investigation into the matter was ongoing to ascertain the identity of the person if it was truly Nigerian Navy personnel. "So far, it has not been authenticat

( Nigeria ) Some aggrieved members of the Ogun chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Saturday held a parallel state congress to protest alleged injustice in the party. The aggrieved members who are in support of Chief Olusegun Osoba, a former governor of the state, held its congress at Kidoto'O Hall, Quarry Road in Abeokuta, amidst tight security. Leader of the group, Sen. Olugbenga Kaka, representing Ogun East Senatorial District at the Senate, expressed displeasure at the manner in which the State Governor  Ibikuinle Amosun, was discriminating against its group. ``Our party is not a party where a single individual will dictate to every other person in the party. In our party, God and the party must rule, not just a single individual. Today marks the beginning of great things to happen in our party,’’ he said. Chief Olu Agemo, who emerged as the Chairman at the congress however pledged to work hard to correct all anomalies in the party. Meanwhile, the Amosun group

(Nigeria) No fewer than 2,100 members of the All Progressives Congress, APC and the Labour Party, LP, on Saturday in Auchi defected to the People Democratic Party, PDP. Mr Onasa Momoh, Edo North Senatorial Chairman of LP, who led defectors from the party, said they were joining the PDP because it was an all-inclusive party. Momoh said that the entire structure of the LP in the senatorial district had been collapsed to enable the members join the PDP. He explained that the LP had in the past worked in alliance with the APC. He, however, explained that such alliance had to end as the party never kept to any agreement reached with it. He decried the victimisation, harassment, humiliation, and the deprivation of LP members’ right during last election in the state. ``We must put an end to cartels and individuals who have perfected the culture of greed and selfishness. ``We have chosen to join a party that is focused on creating jobs within a moral economy, a party that responds to th

The United States and Europe could slap fresh sanctions on Russia on Monday over the escalating crisis in east Ukraine, as Western leaders fear Moscow is preparing to send in troops. The Group of Seven top economies and the European Union signalled they would step up economic pressure on Moscow early next week as tensions spiked over the kidnapping of a team of international military observers by pro-Kremlin rebels. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk claimed Russia violated his country's airspace seven times overnight with an aim "to provoke" Ukraine into starting a war. US Secretary of State John Kerry told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that Washington was concerned about "provocative" troop movements along its border with Ukraine and its support for the separatists, which he said "are undermining stability, security and unity in Ukraine". Yatsenyuk cut short a visit to the Vatican as concern grew that the tens of thousands of Ru

Ukraine has reduced its water supplies to the Crimea peninsula, which was annexed by Russia last month, the region's governor Sergei Aksyonov said Saturday. "Ukraine's sabotage limiting the water supply to the republic through the North Crimea canal can only be qualified as premeditated action against the people of Crimea," Itar-Tass news agency quoted him as saying. Ukrainian media reported earlier Saturday that authorities in Kiev had closed the lock valves of the canal, which supplies up to 85 percent of the peninsula's water. But Aksyonov vowed that Crimea would not run out of water as the region had emergency supplies and talks were being held with Ukrainian officials to find a solution. "There is no drinking water problem," he said on his Twitter account, adding that farmers would be compensated. Crimea also depends on Ukraine for its electricity supplies.

(Nigeris) A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Friday granted a motion for stay of execution of its judgment which declared the collection of toll on the newly constructed Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge unlawful. Justice Saliu Saidu ordered a stay of execution following a motion filed by the Attorney-General of Lagos State, Mr Ade Ipaye. Ipaye had sought a stay of execution of the judgment pending the determination of an appeal at the Court of Appeal. Lagos lawyer and activist, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, had filed a suit on Nov. 26, 2012 against the Lagos State Government, challenging its collection of toll on the bridge. Joined as first and second respondents in the suit were the Attorney General of the Federation' AGF and the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA. Ipaye, and the Lagos State Government were listed as third and fourth respondents respectively. On March 27, Saidu in his judgment, declared that the imposition of such toll was unlawful, on the ground that there was no

(Nigeria) The safe release of scores of school girls abducted by militants last week topped the agenda of a meeting Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan held Thursday with political and military chiefs, a governor said. "The meeting clearly agreed that the issue of the moment is Chibok and the abduction of these children of ours and that we must do everything to ensure that these abducted children are retrieved and protected," said Kayode Fayemi, who attended the meeting. "The military assured us that they are doing everything in order to achieve this objective," Fayemi, governor of southwest Ekiti state, told journalists after the meeting. The mass abduction early last week of the girls from their school in Chibok, Borno state, was blamed on Boko Haram Islamist militants. It has been described as one of the most shocking attacks in the group's five-year extremist insurgency which has claimed thousands of lives. Borno's government said 129 students were

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has opened a initial probe into crimes committed before and during the fall of Ukraine's ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, the court said on Friday. If the court launches a full probe, it would be the first outside the African continent, where governments have often accused the ICC of targeting only their leaders. "The prosecutor of the ICC, Fatou Bensouda, has decided to open a preliminary investigation into the situation in the Ukraine to establish whether... the criteria for opening a (full) investigation are met," the court said in a statement. "The prosecutor shall consider issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and the interests of justice," before deciding on a full investigation, the ICC added, saying the initial investigation was opened "as a matter of policy". "If there was a reasonable basis for an investigation, it is then up to her (Bensouda) to ask the court's judges f

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called the Internet a "CIA project" and warned Russians against making Google searches. Putin assured a group of young journalists that the Internet was controlled from the start by the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA and its surveillance continues today. "That's life. That's how it's organised by Americans. You know all of this started during the dawn of the Internet as a special project of the CIA. And it keeps on developing," Putin said in televised comments. Responding to questions from a young pro-Kremlin blogger, Putin warned that information entered on Google "all goes through servers that are in the States, everything is monitored there". He also made ominous comments on Russia's most popular search engine Yandex, suggesting it could become more tightly controlled. Yandex is "partly registered abroad and not just for tax reasons, but for other reasons too", Putin s

(Nigeria) The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has confirmed the appointment of Alhaji Lamis Dikko as the Chairman, Board of Directors of Unity Bank Plc. The approval, according to a statement issued by the CBN in Lagos on Thursday, is contained in a letter dated April 22. The statement said that the letter was signed by the CBN's Director, Banking Supervision, Mrs Tokunbo Martins. The letter also conveyed the approval of Mr Thomas Etuh as the pioneer Vice Chairman of the Bank. The board of directors of the bank on March 27, forwarded the names of Dikko and Etuh to the CBN, following the resignation of the former Chairman, Alhaji Numan Barau Danbatta. While awaiting the approval, Etuh had been serving as interim Chairman. The statement said, ``Dikko is a seasoned banker with extensive banking experience and a strong background in the financial services sector.’’ He was also an intricate part in the consolidation process that led to the establishment of the bank in 2006.

Maoist rebels killed five police officers Thursday as they were returning from polling duty in an insurgency-hit region of eastern India, an official said. The attack took place in Jharkhand, one of 12 states where voters went to the polls in India's multi-phased general elections. "We can confirm that five of our brave men have died in the attack," head of Jharkhand police Rajeev Kumar told AFP. Over 12 people were also injured in the attack, which may have been triggered by a powerful landmine planted by the rebels, Kumar said. The Maoist rebels have called for a boycott of the elections that began on April 7. Results will be out on May 16, four days after polling ends. Earlier this month, the insurgents killed 14 people in two poll-related blasts in the central state of Chhattisgarh, underscoring the security challenges facing election organisers in India. Separatist and Maoist insurgencies occupy large swathes of India's northeast, northwest and centr

Syria's air force killed 27 civilians Thursday in a raid on a market in an Aleppo provincial village, as a businessman became the second hopeful to register for the country's controversial presidential election. Meanwhile, a team overseeing Syria's chemical weapons handover said Damascus has now surrendered 92.5 percent of its stockpile, even as United Nations Security Council members called for a fresh probe into alleged gas attacks. The air raid in Atareb, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three children were among the dead, comes amid a massive aerial offensive on rebel areas across Aleppo province that began in mid-December. The campaign has killed hundreds, mostly civilians, and forced thousands of families to flee their homes. "The area that was struck today is a market area; that's why there were so many civilians killed," said Aleppo-based activist Abu Omar. "The regime is hitting back against the civilians who support

(Nigeria) The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Kaduna State Chapter, on Thursday appealed  to the Federal Government to help to secure the release of its former President,  Dr Stephen Kitchener. Kitchener, 75, was abducted in Zaria on April 22. Dr Aliyu Bappa, the state Chairman of the NMA, told newsmen in Kaduna that ``the abduction of Kitchener was sad for our value system.’’ According to him, the ex-president went missing two days ago when some gun men trailed him from his clinic and seized him at his private home in Tukur-Tukur, Zaria. The chairman said two days after Kitchener’s abduction; the kidnappers have not made any contact with his family. ``We appeal to his abductors to release him unharmed. He is an old man of 75 years who refused to retire from active medical practice because of his fear of creating a vacuum in the already porous medical manpower environment in the country.’’ Bappa said the NMA and the entire medical community were troubled by the sad deve

Russia ordered new military exercises on the border of Ukraine Thursday and warned of "consequences" after Kiev launched a deadly assault against pro-Kremlin rebels occupying the flashpoint town of Slavyansk, in an escalation of the crisis. But Ukraine's president vowed to see through the military operation, telling Russia to "stop interfering" in the former Soviet republic, and declaring that Kiev would not yield to "the terrorist threat". The rocketing tensions sent oil prices up, as US President Barack Obama, who has deployed troops to boost NATO's defences in eastern European states, accused Russia of reneging on an agreement to defuse the crisis. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in turn attacked the United States and the European Union of "trying to use Ukraine as a pawn in a geopolitical game". In Slavyansk, a flashpoint eastern Ukrainian town held by rebels, several armoured vehicles backed by commandos on foot arr

A United States journalist abducted and held by pro-Kremlin rebels in east Ukraine told AFP he was freed Thursday. Simon Ostrovsky, who works for the online outlet VICE News, said by telephone that he was fine, although he had been beaten after being grabbed late Monday in the flashpoint town of Slavyansk and was initially kept tied up and blindfolded. "After a day and a half they took off the blindfold and untied my hands, then they treated me normally," he said.

The Pakistani military attacked Taliban hideouts in the lawless tribal northwest with fighter jets and ground forces on Thursday and killed at least 37 suspected militants, officials said. It was the first time the military is known to have used air strikes against militants since the Pakistani Taliban announced a ceasefire on March 1 to help peace talks. The government began negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, TTP, in February to try to end their seven-year insurgency, which has cost thousands of lives. The Taliban said last week it was ending the ceasefire, complaining of little progress in negotiations with the government. A series of militant attacks since then have killed seven people in the northwest. The airstrikes hit mountainous areas of the Khyber tribal district, where the Taliban and the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Islam are active. "First jet fighters were used early in the morning and then ground troops were sent to the area," a se

(Nigeria) An Ebute-Meta Chief Magistrate Court in Lagos on Thursday remanded two cult members at the Ikoyi Prisons, over the alleged murder of one Toyosi Jimba, another cult member. The accused -- Solomon Blessing, 21, and Toheeb Ajao, 24, are facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and  murder.       The Magistrate, Mr K.O. Komolafe, ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody, pending legal advice from the Office of the State Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP.    The pleas of the accused were, however, not taken by the court. The prosecutor, Insp. Frank Inah , told the court that the crime was committed on March 1 at 11.30 p.m., at 5, Oluwo Amoju St., Igbogbo, Ikorodu, Lagos. Inah said that the accused belonged to an unlawful society known as `Aye Fraternity’, while the deceased belonged to `Eiye Fraternity’, another unlawful society. The prosecutor said, `` they both had a misunderstanding, which resulted in a fight. ``The accused, in the company of othe

(Nigeria) Shareholders of Diamond Bank on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction over the N7.99 million paid by the bank as penalties to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN in 2013. The shareholders made their position known at the bank's 23rd Annual general Meeting, AGM in Lagos. The bank, during the financial year ended December 31, 2013, was penalised by the CBN for several infractions. A breakdown of the infractions showed that the bank paid a fine of N2 million for the delay in refunding a customer the sum of $827,223 as directed by the CBN. It was fined N4 million for promoting two senior management personnel without the approval of the CBN. The bank also paid penalty of N1.99 million for withholding a customer’s funds for 26 days after the promoters of the customer had written to inform the bank that they were no longer interested in a facility. Speaking at the AGM, Mr Sunny Nwosu, National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, ISAN, urged the

(Nigeria) The Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, said on Thursday that 10 persons lost their lives in 26 road accidents recorded in different parts of Kogi State during the Easter holiday. The Kogi Sector Commander, Mr Godwin Omiko, told newsmen in Lokoja that the dead included nine male adults and a female adult. Omiko said 120 people, comprising 98 men and 22 women, were involved in the 26 accidents which occurred between April 16 and April 21. He said that 71 of them were rescued without injuries, while the remaining 49 persons sustained various degrees of injuries, and were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. He said that those rescued without injuries included 55 men and 16 women, adding that no child casualty was recorded in any of the accidents. Omiko said that relations of the victims had been contacted following laid down procedure in the organisation. The sector commander said that the corpses of the deceased were released to their families.

(Nigeria) A royal father, HRH Alhaji Jimoh Awudu, the Ukor (Otare) of Ihievbe Clan,  has enjoined the people of the community to maintain the peace innthe community and with their neighbours.  He made the appeal at the opening of the Ihievbe 2014 Annual Conference held in the town. He assured the people that as the customs and traditions of the people, he was open to peace initiatives, aimed at resolving all the issues arising from indiscriminate encroachment on Ihievbe land by individuals and some neighbouring communities.  The Royal father noted that the maintenance of peace and protection of lives and property was a joint responsibility people in the society and cannot be left to the government alone. He called on the State Commissioner of Police to consider the re-opening of the Ihievbe police station, just as he commended members of the Vigilance Group in the area for living up to expectation in ensuring the security of the community since the closure of Ihievbe police st

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has appealed to the United Nations to “urgently intervene to secure the safe release of 230 students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, who were abducted by members of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram.” SERAP wants the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism, MRM of the UN Security Council, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide “international assistance and support to the Nigerian authorities to secure the release of the children and to ensure that they are back to school.” The group in statement by its Executive Director, Mr Adetokunbo Mumuni, said “continuing abduction of these innocent children is having negative impact on their well-being and long-term education. We are urging these bodies to move swiftly to support efforts to protect schools, teachers, and students from deliberate attack

A police brigadier general was killed when a bomb exploded under his car on Wednesday, security officials said, in the fifth such targeted attack in Egypt's capital within a week. The blast in the upscale western suburb of October 6 killed Ahmed Zaki, a commander of Egypt's central security forces who have spearheaded a crackdown on supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. A little-known jihadist group, Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt), said in a statement on Facebook and Twitter that it had killed Zaki. The group has claimed several attacks on police in Cairo, and had warned of further retaliation for the crackdown on Islamists who back Morsi. Militants have launched scores of attacks mainly targeting security forces since the military deposed Morsi last July after massive protests calling for his resignation. The general was fatally wounded as he headed for work, security officials said, adding that two conscripts were wounded in the attack. Video f

At least four people, including two policemen, were killed on Wednesday when a car bomb exploded outside a police station in Nairobi near a major Somali neighbourhood, Kenya's government said. "At least four dead after a sedan exploded at Pangani police station, of which two are police officers," the interior ministry tweeted. "Agents intercepted the suspect car at traffic lights and took the suspects away for questioning," it added, without giving further details. 

(Nigeria) Two men, Yusuf Nasiru, 30, and Waheed Azeez, 56,  have been remanded in prison custody  by an Ibadan Chief Magistrate Court sitting at Iyaganku, Oyo State for allegedly causing the death of a minor. The chief magistrate, Mrs  Sofiat Oyediran, ordered the accused  to be kept at Agodi Prison pending the receipt of legal advice from the office of  Directorate of Public Prosecutions. The accused was arraigned on a two-count charge of conspiracy and causing death. The plea of the accused was not taken. The prosecutor, Insp Sunday Ogunremi, alleged that Nasiru and Azeez conspired with one other person, still at large, to commit the act. Ogunremi alleged that Nasiru and Azeez unlawfully caused the death of one Glory Oladayo, aged 6,  by strangulating her to death. He said Nasiru allegedly cut the minor into pieces and packed her  flesh and intestine into two big basins which he hid in his room. The offence was said to have been committed on March 12 at 3 p.m., at Isal

Bradley Manning, the United States soldier convicted of leaking a trove of secret documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, will now be legally known as Chelsea Manning, a judge ruled Wednesday. Manning is serving a 35-year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas and had requested the name change after court-martial proceedings revealed the soldier's emotional turmoil over sexual identity. Leavenworth County District Judge David King granted the request to allow Manning "to legally change her name from 'Bradley Edward Manning' to 'Chelsea Elizabeth Manning,'" said a statement issued by his supporters. In the same statement, Manning praised the result. "It's worth noting that in both mail and in-person, I've often been asked, 'Why are you changing your name?' "The answer couldn't be simpler: because it's a far better, richer, and more honest reflection of who I am and always have been -- a woman na

(Nigeria) President Goodluck Jonathan has commended former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari for speaking out against terrorism and insecurity in the country. Jonathan in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said he believes that the position taken by General Buhari was that of a true patriot, respected former Head of State, revered elder statesman and nationalist. The President welcomes General Buhari’s call on all Nigerians to remain steadfast and work in unity to overcome terrorists and other merchants of death who currently threaten national security. “President Jonathan fully shares General Buhari’s view that a minority must never be allowed to “bring the nation to its knees through terror. “He has noted General Buhari’s recommendation that the nation’s counter-terrorism strategies be further fine-tuned and welcomes his kind offer of support and co-operation in dealing with the challenge of terrorism. “The President assures