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Processed meats like bacon and sausage can cause cancer, the World Health Organisation's, WHO's, cancer agency said Monday, adding that non-processed red meat is likely also carcinogenic. The WHO finding was supported by a leading Italian cancer surgeon, but sharply criticized by US organizations representing the meat industry, reports dpa. In an analysis of more than 800 independent scientific studies, a group of WHO cancer researchers said that each 50-gram daily serving of processed meat - meat that had been cured, fermented, salted or smoked - increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 per cent. Red meat, which includes beef, veal, pork and all other mammalian muscle meat, was classified as "probably carcinogenic to humans ... based on limited evidence that the consumption of red meat causes cancer in humans and strong mechanistic evidence supporting a carcinogenic effect." Though the clearest association was seen between processed meat consumption and colo

Pakistan deployed military helicopters to reach thousands of people feared trapped under rubble Tuesday, officials said, a day after a powerful earthquake that so far has killed over 300 people in the region. The death toll in Pakistan has reached 230, according to Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed, reports dpa. Most deaths in Pakistan were reported from the mountainous region of Malakand in the north near the Afghan border, Rasheed said. Nearly 80 people were killed in eastern Afghanistan in the 7.5-magnitude earthquake that jolted a vast region from Tajikistan to New Delhi in India. At least four people were killed in the Himalayan valleys of Indian near country's border with China and Pakistan, officials in New Delhi said. Military and civilian agencies in Pakistan were mounting a massive rescue operation to reach people in areas still inaccessible due to landslides triggered by the tremor, Minister Rasheed added. But their efforts were hampered by more landslides and h

(Nigeria)The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has summoned an emergency meeting of its national caucus to discuss emerging issues from the judgment of Election Petition Tribunals. The meeting, according to a statement by Chief Olisa Metuh, PDP National Publicity Secretary, is scheduled to hold in Abuja on October 29. It said that the meeting would discuss what it described as "onslaught against the PDP and its candidates in the last general elections by the All Progressives Congress, APC. ``The meeting will focus on the unrelenting schemes by the APC and its Federal Government to use some unpatriotic elements in the judiciary to advance their plot to take over states won by the PDP.’’ It listed the states as Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Delta, Taraba and Abia. The statement said that the meeting was in furtherance of the decision of the party leadership "to fully activate its structures in stiff resistance to the manipulations of the APC. "To resist the coerc

(Nigeria) The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, on Monday said that the new 29 Task Force Brigade in Beneshiek, Borno State, was strategically established to end insurgency. Buratai made the remarks while addressing soldiers deployed to the new brigade in Beneshiek and Ngamdu. ``This location is very important and strategic, it has great impact toward defeating the Boko Haram group. ``You are better trained and equipped than the criminals and you have to be professional and responsive. ``You should have no excuse not to be on patrol, ambush or raid operations,’’ he said. The army chief assured the troops that government would provide them with all the necessary kits and equipment to facilitate their success to end insurgency. ``We have to maintain the momentum to achieve Mr President's deadline. ``We must eradicate insurgency and make Nigeria peaceful,’’ he said. Buratai charged the soldiers to apply tactics, battle procedure and fire discipline. ``Be on the ale

(Nigeria) The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, on Monday said it has withdrawn the ``data floor price’’ for operators in the telecommunications industry. ``Floor price’’ is a government or group-imposed price control or the limit a price can be charged for a product to check unhealthy rivalry among players. In a statement in Lagos, the commission said that the withdrawal was in a bid to ensure sustainability, growth and development of the data service market segment. ``However, the commission will restore the floor price if any distortion is observed within the market segment,’’ it said. With the withdrawal of the price, telecommunications industry now has the permission of NCC to charge subscribers lower than the set lowest industry prices. The regulatory body had in May 2013 imposed a price floor on telecommunications operators in the country as a means of controlling anti-competitive behaviours by operators considered to have attained the dominant status in the industry

(Nigeria) A 51-year-old pupil teacher, Mathew Oluyede, was on Monday remanded in Ado-Ekiti Prisons, Ekiti State for allegedly defiling four pupils. Oluyede, whose address is unknown, is facing a charge of defilement at an Ado Ekiti Magistrates’ Court. Magistrate Taiwo Ajibade, who did not take the plea of the accused, said he should be kept behind bars until the next date of adjournment. She said the case file should be duplicated and sent to the State Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, for legal advice. Earlier, the prosecutor, Sgt. Akinwale Oriyomi, told the court that the accused committed the offence between October 19 and October 21 at Ayetoro-Ekiti in Ido Council Area of the state. According to him, Oluyede defiled four minors (names withheld) of between ages two to nine. He urged the court to remand the accused immediately. The offence contravened Section 218 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Ekiti, 2012. The accused, on conviction, may be sentenced to life imprisonment.

(Nigeria) Simeon Nwakaudu The Judgment of the Justice Ambrosa-led tribunal in the petition by the defeated Rivers State All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate,  Mr Dakuku Peterside will not stand the test of  Court of Appeal because it was premised on the elevation of a mere Independent National National Election, INEC press statement above the Electoral Act which legally governs the electoral process in Nigeria.  It was on the premise of the INEC press statement that the Justice Ambrosa-led tribunal opined that the use of both card reader accreditation and manual accreditation as done in Rivers State as well as other states was wrong.  The tribunal failed to acknowledge the fact that the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos upheld the election of Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode with the clear declaration that the non-use or non functionality of the card reader cannot invalidate an election.  This position has been held in all other states where the tribunals decl

(Nigeria) Justice Ademola Adeniyi of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday expressed surprise at the decision of prosecution counsel to bring additional charges against immediate past National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) on a day set aside for definite hearing on the one count charge preferred against him. On September 1 this year, prosecution counsel, Mohammed Diri, had told the court that Dasuki was charged with the unlawful possession of firearms without a licence which Dasuki pleaded not guilty. Justice Ademola then granted Mr. Dasuki bail on self-recognition but ordered that his passport and other travel documents be deposited with the deputy court registrar while the case was adjourned to October 26 and 27 for the hearing. When the court sat today (October 26, 2015) however, M.S. Labaran, appearing for the prosecution announced instead that the one count charge was now being expanded to include additional charges bothering illegal possession of

(Nigeria)The Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Mr Ovwigho Igbuya on Monday congratulated Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa for his victory at the tribunal. He also praised the judiciary for remaining the protector of the oppressed. In a statement in Asaba by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Henry Ebireri, the speaker described the April 11 governorship election as the fairest and freest in the history of the state. “Your victory at the Tribunal shows that the people of Delta State clearly authorized your candidature. “It also shows that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man’’ he said. He commended Okowa for running a transparent and accountable government and also placing the state on the world map for good, growth and development. Igbuya who also praised the governor for the pragmatic steps taken to address the problems in the various sectors, the development of democratic culture and stable polity, the creation of jobs for the people and the elevation of politics beyond the munda

(Nigeria) The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, said on Saturday that Nyesom Wike remained the governor of Rivers in spite of the nullification of his election by the election petition tribunal. The Chairman of the party in the state, Chief Felix Obuah, said in a statement in Port Harcourt said that the Electoral Act 2010 guaranteed an elected governor stay in office after giving notice of appeal against a judgement 21 days from the date of the judgement. The statement assured the people that notwithstanding the tribunal`s ruling, Wike was still the governor of the state. The statement urged the people of Rivers not to panic over the judgment because the party was still in control of the state. It said the party would get to any legal height to fight the ``injustice by the tribunal’’. The statement also said that there was no reason for the tribunal to have hurriedly delivered the judgement less than 24 hours after adopting the written addresses in a matter that lasted more than fou

(Nigeria) The All Progressives Congress, APC, has described Saturday's judgment of the Rivers Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that overturned the election of Governor Nyesom Wike as a deadly blow to impunity. APC in a statement in Abuja on Saturday by Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the National Publicity Secretary, said that the only way for elections to have legitimacy was for them to be free, fair and credible. “What has come across from this judgment is that there is no shortcut to free, fair and credible elections. “Elections are about the expression of the will of the people, and they must always be free to express themselves irrespective of what some desperate politicians may feel,'' it said. The statement said that politicians, especially those seeking or occupying elective offices, must realise that they could only derive their legitimacy from the people. “And unless they respect the wishes of the people, they will not go far,’’ it added. The statement hailed th

(Nigeria) Senator Magnus Abe, former member of the National Assembly, said on Saturday that the nullification of the governorship election in the state by the tribunal was a vindication of the judiciary. Abe, (APC—Rivers South West), said in Port Harcourt that the APC had insisted that the elections of March 28 and April 11 in the state were not free and fair. `` The APC has always insisted that what took place on March 28 and April 11 cannot be described as elections in which anybody can be validly elected into office under our constitution. `` And today, our stand has been vindicated,`` he said. Abe said that those who hijacked power by bullet, today, power has been taken away from them by a stroke of the pen. He urged APC members in the state to remain steadfast because a day would come when the ballot would be used to determine their leaders. `` I want to thank Rivers people and we say to all that there will definitely be an hour when the ballot and not the bullet, will decid

(Nigeria) The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said that Saturday’s judgment of the Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja shows clear bias against Gov. Nyesom Wike and the party. PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh in a statement on Saturday in Abuja, said ``We, therefore, reassured that PDP will do all within the ambit of the law to resist attempt by the APC to thwart the will of the people,’’ he said. Metuh said that the tribunal’s verdict would not stand as it was `` completely bizarre, unacceptable and part of the script by the All Progressives Congress, APC, to manipulate the will of the people.’’ He said that PDP had earlier revealed APC’s plot to use the judiciary and various security agencies to reverse PDP’s victory in Rivers, Delta, Akwa-Ibom, Taraba and Abia. Metuh said that those plots culminated in the tribunal’s ruling on Rivers election as well as `the ridiculous Wednesday’s verdict’ of the Akwa-Ibom Governorship Election Trib

(Nigeria) The Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria, MWUN, on Saturday said that it had suspended its three -day-old strike which had paralysed activities at the nation’s ports. This is contained in a communique in Lagos  by Mr Olumide Oduntan, Executive Director, Finance, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the President-General of the MWUN, Mr Anthony Nted. The communiqué said that the agreement was reached after a meeting between the representatives of NPA and MWUN on Saturday on Victoria Island, Lagos. According to the communiqué, all outstanding payments to tally clerks and on board security men are now top priorities that will be paid as soon as the Treasury Single Account (TSA) issues have been resolved. It further said, ``All statutory payments to NPA and charges due to stevedoring contractors on MV Hawk that berthed midstream at Bonny must be paid before the vessel is allowed to sail.’’ The MWUN, which commenced a nationwide strike on Thursday, was not happy with the non-paym

( Nigeria) Nigeria's secret police, the Department of State Security Service,DSS, has refused to produce Radio Biafra Director,Nnamdi Kanu,  arrested last Monday on his return from United kingdom and arraigned secretly before a Magistrate Court, Wuse 11,and granted bail under stringent bail conditions. Nnamdi's Lawyer, Mr.Egechukwu Obetta,who spoke in his Enugu office on Saturday, said, "We have fulfilled his bail conditions. Although the bail conditions were stringent which required the Certificate of Occupancy of a landed property within Abuja municipality,a level 16 officer in the Ministry,which we eventually met in full. "The documents of the landed property was transmitted to the DSS prosecuting counsel by the court clerk. On Friday,we expected that the DSS would have verified the authenticity of the landed property documents. As a matter of practice,the verification does not last beyond 24 hours. As at Friday, DSS did not transmit the verification to the court

(Nigeria) By Simeon Nwakaudu Right from the very day that the first chairman of the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal chairman was substituted in inexplicable circumstances, everyone knew that a negative plot had been hatched against the judicial process. Under the circumstances,  everyone waited quietly to see if the tribunal would dispense justice in accordance with extant laws.  The tribunal lived up to expectation of the creators of the ugly circumstances.  On October 24, 2015 , the new chairman of the tribunal,  Justice Suleiman Ambrosa delivered his judgment barely 2 days after lawyers on all sides exchanged 9 written addresses. Only Justice Ambrosa would explain the hurry when he had 7 clear days to deliver a well thought-out judgment. The judgment delivered by the Justice Ambrosa-led Tribunal negated all known judicial processes and recent pronouncements of different tribunals and the Appeal Court on the electoral process.  First,  Justice Ambrosa declar

(Nigeria) The Rivers Police Command said on Saturday that the state was calm and people going about their normal businesses after the annulment of the election of Governor Nyesom Wike. In Port Harcourt and neighbouring Local Government Areas, security had been beefed up with deployment of security personnel in strategic locations. Mrs Grace Iringe-Koko, spokesperson of the command, said in Port Harcourt that all was calm in the state. `` We have not recorded any incidents and the state is calm. Police is on top of the situation,`` she said. Meanwhile, APC stalwarts in the state have been reacting to election petitions tribunal`s decision to annul the election of Governor Wike of Rivers. State. Mrs Ibim Semenitari, former Commissioner for information and communication in the Amaechi administration, said the party commended the judges for standing on the side of truth. `` We thank God and praise him for this victory and we are grateful to Rivers people for their support,`` she said

(Nigeria) The All Progressives Congress, APC, has condoled with the government and people of Borno and Adamawa States over the deadly mosques attacks in the two states on Friday that left over 5 0 people dead and many injured. APC in a statement in Lagos on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,  said that while even the loss of one life is too much to bear, the government and people of the states should take solace in the fact that the attacks will not endure, because of the stepped up campaign by the nation's gallant soldiers. ''The spike in the attacks in recent times is a direct reflection of the huge successes by the military in flushing the Boko Haram terrorists out of their strongholds and putting them on the run. With no fortress to call their own any more, having being smoked out of Sambisa Forest and removed from their 'caliphates', they have resorted to these cowardly attacks aimed at soft targets. ''But grim as the

(Nigeria) The Peoples  Democratic  Party, PDP, and the  Rivers State Governor, Mr Nyesom Wike will appeal the judgment  of the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal  which ordered fresh governorship  election  on the basis of the  card reader accreditation  during  the  election.  The tribunal had earlier nullified the election of Wike. Addressing  journalists  after the  judgment  delivered  by Justice  Suleiman Ambrosa of the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal,  counsel  to  the  PDP, Chief Chris Uche, SAN,  said  that  Governor Wike  remains governor  until  the appeal processes are exhausted.  He said  the nature of the judgment  delivered  by  Justice  Ambrosa-led Tribunal  makes appeal vital as the new position  adopted  by  the  tribunal  must be tested in the  interest of justice.  Uche noted  that  the  tribunal's  reliance  on  card reader accreditation to nullify  the governorship  election when  evidence  was led by  both the respond

(Nigeria) A Lagos High Court sitting at Igbosere on Friday, declared the appointment of caretaker committees to run local government administration in Lagos State as illegal and unconstitutional. Trial judge, Justice Abdulfatai Lawal in a judgement in the suit filed by the National Conscience Party, through its lawyer,  Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa ordered the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission,  LASIEC to conduct elections in all local governments within 30 days. The court held that no governor was empowered by the constitution to take over the administration of local governments through sole administrators or caretaker committees.  "I call upon the Lagos State Government to immediately implement the judgment of the court by dismantling all the illegal structures of local government caretaker committees".  "I also call upon all state governments where the local governments are being manned by administrators to conduct elections immediately," Justice Lawal h

(Nigeria) Two suicide bombings at mosques in north-eastern Nigeria killed at least 37 people Friday, emergency services officials and a witness said. No fewer than 27 people died and more than 90 were injured in Yola when a bomber rushed into a crowd of worshippers leaving a mosque after prayers, national emergency agency coordinator Saad Bello said, reports dpa. Thirty people were also taken to hospital after being injured in a stampede that followed the explosion, an emergency services official who requested anonymity said. No fewer than10 worshippers in Maiduguri were killed when a bomber walked into the Subhi Mosque during morning prayers and detonated explosives in the middle of the faithful, witness Ali Garba said. In recent weeks, suicide bombers, suspected to be members of the Boko Haram militant group, have killed scores of worshippers in attacks in the north-east. Boko Haram, which seeks to establish a state with the strictest interpretation of Islamic law, has killed th

A suicide bomber blew himself up Friday at a Shiite procession in southern Pakistan, killing 20 people and wounding dozens, police said. The bomb ripped through crowds gathered in Jacobabad in Sindh province to observe Muharram, the holiest occasion for Shiite communities, in which they mourn the death of Shia imam Hussein ibn Ali, grandson of the prophet Mohammed, 1,400 years ago, reports dpa. At least five children were among the dead, local police chief Zafar Malik said. At least 11 Shiites were also killed in a separate suicide bombing overnight at a mosque in the south-western province of Balochistan. No one claimed responsibility for either bombing, but the Sunni extremist Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group in the past has targeted the Shiite community.

(Nigeria) Lecturers of the University of Jos, Plateau State, have begun an indefinite strike to press home their demands for improved working conditions. The lecturers, in a statement by Prof F. C. Piwuna, the Chairman of the university's chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, on Friday in Jos, said ASUU's National Executive Council, NEC, had approved the action. ``The NEC of ASUU has approved our request for total, indefinte and comprehensive strike starting immediately. ``It means that all activities -- teaching, supervision, examination as well as statutory and ad hoc committee meetings -- have been suspended,'' it said. Though Piwuna did not give further details on the reasons for the strike, it was learnt that the lecturers' grievances bordered on, among other things, alleged discrepancies in the payments of entitlements. The lecturers are also demanding that certain allowances being enjoyed by their colleagues in other institutions be

(Nigeria) A 25-year-old man, Benjamin Ibehmonic, on Friday appeared before a Makurdi Magistrate's Court, Benue State  over alleged rape of a 13-year-old boy through his anus. The Prosecutor, Cpl. Omaye Ujata, told the court that one Christian Ornguga of No. 39 Off Vandeikya Street, High-Level Makurdi, reported the case at B Division Police Station. Uajta said that Ibehmonic of the same address raped the informant's younger brother through the anus while he was coming back from an errand. She told the court that the complainant told the police that he sent the victim to buy him recharge card. The prosecutor said that Ornguga told the police that the accused called him into his room, tied his mouth, legs, hands and had sexual intercourse with him through his anus. The accused was arrested during police investigation and he voluntarily confessed to the crime. She said that investigation into the matter had been completed and applied for a date for hearing. The prosecutor sa

(Nigeria) The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday reinstated the 21 Local Government Council Chairmen wrongfully sacked by Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State. A Kogi State High Court sitting in Koton Karfe on December 9, 2014, nullified the May 4, 2013 Council elections that produced the Chairmen and their Councillors. Delivering the judgment, Justice Mustapha Mohammed held that the decision of the lower court was a judicial error. The Judge said the appeal brought by the appellants had merit, adding ``It is hereby allowed’’. He ordered the Kogi State government to immediately reinstate the sacked Council Chairmen and their Councillors, relieved of their appointments before the expiration of their tenures. ``The Court has perused the substance of the matter and left without an option but to nullify the dissolution carried out by the governor,’’ he said. The trial judge, Justice Alaba Omolaye- Ajileye, in his judgment ordered the appellants (Chairmen) to hand over to the most senior

(Nigeria) The naira on Friday depreciated further against the dollar when it lost N0.5 to the dollar as it exchanged for N225.5 as against the previous N225 at the parallel market Meanwhile, the official rate at the interbank window remained at N197. Despite the bi-weekly sale of forex to operators of Bureau de Change, BCD, by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, the naira continued to depreciate. Traders at the parallel market said the continued demand for dollar by importers was exerting pressure on the currency of the largest economy in Africa.

(Nigeria) The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, on Friday said the ports would remain shut until the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, paid the nine months salary arrears dockworkers. The President-General of the union, Mr Tony Nted, stated this in an interview Lagos. He said the NPA had reneged on its agreement to pay the salaries owed the dockworkers. ``The maritime workers union decided to shut down the ports yesterday to withdraw the service of our members, based on some of the irregularities being perpetrated by the NPA. The first one was the issue of tally clerks and onboard security men that have not been paid for the past nine months. ``If we talk about nine months’ arrears we also have other arrears; about 10 per cent increase to workers; the entire dockworkers. ``The terminal operators have made their payment and NPA has not made its payment. ``As I am talking to you, is about 15 months’ arrears that have not been paid to the dockworkers; in addition to the nine mon

(Nigeria) Many people are feared dead as bomb blast rocked a newly opened Friday mosque in Jambutu area of Yola in Adamawa State. The blast, suspected to be from a suicide bomber, occurred about 2p.m.,shortly after the Imam of the mosque concluded reading the sermon for the Juma'at prayer. "It was a young boy who attempted to get into the mosque when the explosive went off. "It's a new Friday mosque, this is the first Friday prayer to be offered in the mosque. " Over 100 people have so far been evacuated to hospital but I can't say how many among them are dead," an eye witness, who simply identified himself as Umaru, said. The Police spokesman in the state, Othman Abubakar and the Executive Secretary, Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency, ADSEMA, Alhaji Haruna Furo, confirmed the incident and said rescue effort was still going on. They said that the number of casualty was yet to be ascertained. "We are now evacuating those affected to Yo

(Nigeria) The Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has upheld the victory of Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun in the April 11, 2015 election. Chairman of the 3-man panel, Justice Henry Olusiyi who delivered the judgment in Abeokuta on Friday, dismissed the petition raised by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Mr Gboyega Isiaka. Isiaka had alleged that irregularities occurred during the election. Isiaka said the votes credited to Amosun in nine of the 20 local government areas were invalid on grounds of fraud, malpractices, ballot snatching, stuffing and outright rigging. He had, therefore, prayed the court to declare him as the winner of the election having scored the highest number of valid votes cast at the election. The chairman held that the claims of the petitioner were largely unsubstantiated and the proofs grossly insufficient to support his allegations. He said the responsibility of proving the invalidity of the votes credited to Amosun which rest

(Nigeria) The Nigerian military has denied employing mercenaries in the war against Boko Haram.         Colonel Rabe Abubakar, acting Director Defence Information in a statement in Abuja on Friday, said "The attention of the military high command has been drawn to the insinuation by some section of the media that the military has resorted to using mercenaries in the ongoing counterinsurgency operation in the North East. "The insinuation and the entire story are utterly scurrilous and a calculated attempt to smear the good image of the Nigerian military. The orchestrated campaign is aimed at rubbishing the efforts of the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies who are working hard to contain the insurgencies in the North East. "To this end the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) wishes to state that the military has enough trained soldiers to fight the terrorists in the North East without resorting to the use of mercenaries.  Also, the military has significantly up-sc

(Nigeria) National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, workers have evacuated six dead bodies of the victims of an early morning suicide bombing in Maiduguri, Borno State. It was gathered that the incident occurred during the early Morning Subhi Prayer at a mosque behind Magistrate Court Polo Area in Maiduguri. It was further gathered the explosion was carried out by a suspected lone suicide bomber whose two accomplices escaped, when some vigilant members of the community accosted them on their suspicious movements. A senior health worker confirmed that the six bodies have been deposited in the mortuary, while about 17 other injured victims are being treated in Specialist and teaching hospitals in Maiduguri.

(Nigeria) By Simeon Nwakaudu  The  adoption  of final written  addresses  by parties at the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja  threw up a very critical  issue. The obvious  failure  of the APC and her governorship candidate,  Mr Dakuku Peterside to discharge  the burden of  proof which  rests on  them because  of  their numerous  false allegations that bordered on violence, electoral fraud  and irregularities.  During  the  adoption of written addresses, it was a shocker to everyone when the lead counsel  to the petitioner, Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN,  argued that  the  burden of proof should  be  transferred to the Respondents.  This position  was a last resort by the desperate  petitioner as it was obvious  that  he neither  called  the  relevant witnesses,  nor tendered the right documents to prove his case. This failure is what has fatally  decimated the  petition.  Other than the earlier  propaganda  promoted by sponsored  media agents of the AP

(Nigeria) The  Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has urged the  Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to dismiss  the  petition  by Rivers State All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Mr Dakuku Peterside because it  lacks merit and substance.  Also, Rivers State Governor,  Nyesom  Wike called  on the tribunal  to dismiss the petition  as the petitioner  failed  to  prove the several unfounded  allegations  against his election  on April 11, 2015. This is as the Justice Suleiman Ambrosa-led  Rivers  State  Governorship  Election Petition Tribunal adjourned  for judgment  after counsels to the Respondents  and Petitioners adopted  their  written  addresses  on Thursday.  The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,  also urged the  tribunal  to dismiss  the  petition  declaring  that the burden of  proof  rests with  the  petitioner, who failed to  discharge  same before the  court. The APC, however,  urged the  tribunal  to grant the  reliefs sou

(Nigeria) The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday arraigned two men -- Linus Chibuike and Nnamdi Ojukwu -- before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos charged with money laundering. The accused, both businessmen, were each arraigned on a one-count charge to which they pleaded not guilty. Following an oral application for bail by their counsels, Mr Abubakar Shamsudeen and Mr Chris Nwokedi, respectively, Justice Ibrahim Buba granted them bail in the sum of N50 million each, with one surety each in like sum. Buba fixed November 2 for substantive trial of the accused persons. The prosecutor, Mr Latona Gbolahan, had told the court that the accused committed the offence on October 8. He said that they were arrested by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos. According to the prosecutor, the accused were apprehended during the outbound clearance of passengers on board a flight to China. He said that the $2.

(Nigeria) The All Progressives Congress, APC, on said it would appeal against the judgment of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Akwa Ibom State. The Chairman of the party in the state, Dr Amadu Atai, announced this to newsmen in Uyo. Atai said the party was expecting outright cancellation of the governorship election since it nullified the elections in 18 out of the 31 local government areas. ``The tribunal has cancelled the governorship elections in 18 local government areas and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct elections in the affected areas. ``But we are going to file an appeal because we expected cancellation in more local government areas where discrepancies were pervasive”, he said. The Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state, Mr Paul Ekpo, however, said that the judgement was confusing. Ekpo said the only good thing about the judgment was that the State Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, remained in office. He said the p

(Nigeria) The Council of State on Wednesday in Abuja approved the appointment of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State made this known while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the Council’s meeting, which President Muhammadu Buhari presided over. ``The situation in INEC as at today is such that requires for this emergency meeting to approve the nominations by Mr President because the law requires that a minimum of four commissioners should form a quorum in INEC, which is not the case presently because the tenures if 11 of national commissioners of INEC had expired. ``In line with this, the council considered and confirmed the appointments of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman of INEC; Mrs. Amina Zakari as member representing North West; Dr Antonia Taiye Okoosi-Simbile as Commissioner representing North Central; Alhaji Baba Shettima Arfo, (from Borno) as Commissioner re